HNKNA - Deutsche Liebe
by peekodemeeko12
Summary: Atticus, a 16 year old psychotic German with a split personality disorder and post traumatic stress disorder and forced to join the Nazi's in WWll, is now roaming around Wonderland. What in the world are the Role Holders to think of this development and how will a particular engineer handle the impossible boy? Atticus X Jackie
1. Chapter 1

FYI the title is German. I absolutely ADORED this OC character that ( . ) is letting me write about to pair with Jackie. I am very picky, particularly when it comes to OC's, of who to pair Jackie with and this character here won stars all across the board. I was so impressed by this character that, heck, I'm writing an arc with him being paired with Jackie! I hope you enjoy this as much as I am writing it, but please KEEP AN OPEN MIND ABOUT IT. Thank you and enjoy :3

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ATTICUS'S POV

The scent of choking smoke, the aroma of thick blood, and the musky scent of gunpowder strangle my lungs as I dash down the blood soaked field, mud dirtying the blood stained combat boots. Dead bodies of my Nazi allies lay in waste, already beginning to rot and decay on the lonely field. The assault rifle weighs heavy in my hands, proving to be useless anyway because of the mud clogging up the inner gears. My foot catches on a fellow soldiers arm, dropping me to the ground. I spin around, catching sight of my once ally's mangled face. Half of it is gone thanks to a sniper ripping part of his face off, revealing the bloody red and black teeth in his mouth.

"H-Ha, he, ha-!" I rasp, trembling as I stare at his limp lips somehow twisting into an evil sneer. All of them ... all of them are dead. I never wanted any of this-! My palms take hasty wipes across my moist eyes, staring at the mud and blood smeared across my hands. N-No ... I need to run! I didn't want any of this! M-Mom - mom, I'm so scared!

"HE'S OVER THERE!" A monstrous voice bellows. My heart leaps into my throat before I take off, running faster now that they've seen me. They will torture me. They will kill me. Mein Gott, they will kill me-!

Hilf mir-! Please, please Gott help me! I never wanted this. All this blood. All this death. I-I can't handle it! Mein Gott I'm only sixteen-! My teeth clench as I make it to the forest line, silencing my terrified shouts. Don't yell. The British will find you and kill you. My legs move cumbersomely as I hit a patch of thick mud. My eyes widen with terror as I struggle to right my wrong, too far in to simply run back and around. Don't yell. They'll stab you with sticks until you're dead. My herz frantically races as I kick with all my might, digging my fingers into the slick wet dirt. Don't yell. Sharp shouts ring out from behind as hounds madly bark, bound and determined to sink their teeth into my flesh. Don't yell-!

My legs finally break free from the cold clutches of the mud as I scramble up the embankment. The chilly air stabs at my throat while I dart through the trees, shoving branches out of the way of my hasty flight. My boots dig into the ground as I skid to a stop, nearly falling into a large black hole in front of me. My hand whips out, grabbing a nearby tree branch to stop my ascent into the bottomless pit. Did the enemy make this to stop me from escaping? Mutti ... am I, am I done for? A choked sob escapes my throat, the grip on the assault rifle tightening. Don't yell. Don't yell. Don't yell-!

"SHOOT HIM!" A vicious man barks. I spin around spying the hatred searing through the man's cold, deadly piercing gaze as he pulls out his pistol. A sharp pain grazes my shoulder as the ground gives out, throwing me back into the shadows.

"Nein-!"

JACKIE'S POV

"Jackie~," Boris purrs, lounging across my hunched over back as I struggle to successfully reconnect the wires. Freaking Boris ... I'm really going to beat the living daylights out of him one of these days. Boris leans harder against my back making me awkwardly bend to get the wires. Ugh ... he's demanding for my attention now. So freaking needy!

"What?" I grumble, on the edge of smacking him upside the head with my wrench. He weight shifts, vanishing before shoving me forward. "Oof-!" I try to push back as he leans on my back, curling his arms around my shoulders.

"Did ya hear?" He asks with a playful purr, nuzzling his head into my temple. I roll my eyes and give in, running a hand through his hair. _So_ needy ...

"About what?" I half heartedly ask, taping the crap out of the wires so he can't disconnect them so easily.

"There was someone with eyes found near the coliseum."

"Yeah great - wait what?" I say, whipping around to face him. He jerks to the side before gaining his footing, giving me a wide toothy grin as he finally catches my attention.

"Is it another Role Holder?" I ask, puzzled as Boris rubs his head. There's no way ... is it another foreigner? There's ... just no way. I try to cover up my horror. Which means she won't be able to leave until after I finish my game, which can't even start until Alice finishes hers. Oh man, I need to get to her before she drinks the potion so she isn't screwed over like I am-!

"No, I don't think so. Heh, maybe this new person is a Foreigner!" Boris grins, mischievously excited. "Wanna go check it out with me?"

"Of course I do! Forget this, this can wait." I say as I hurry out of the cramped room. A new foreigner? No way! Is it actually possible? That poor soul. She's going to be trapped here forever if I don't so something, or worst yet dead!

‡

"Cyan!" I shout, crazily looking around the large coliseum. People bump into me and push me aside as they eagerly hurry on their way. My gosh what, is a giant match going on or something? I wonder if Boris went to go see the match? I lost him in .5 seconds in this pushing and shoving crowd.

"Cyan!" I shout again as I am pushed to the edge of the crowd. Ugh oh come on, Cyan I know you can hear me! You're _never_ too far from me when I'm here. I jolt as a notepad jerks in front of my face, immediately catching my attention.

_You called?_ It read.

"Where is the other foreigner? Is she alright?" I demand, anxiously watching as he writes his response.

_You are misinformed. It is a male foreigner._ He corrects. My eyes grow wide. A guy?

"R-really?" That's ... surprising. I thought only girls could come here but I guess that's only based on me and Alice.

_And he's about to be punished and forced to fight in the arena.  
_  
"GRIFFIN YOU IDIOT!" I shout, immediately glaring at the guards in front of the stairs which lead up to his little domain.

_I suppose you'd want to talk to Griffin about this._ Cyan writes before I push past him. That idiot! What is he thinking?

"Of course I do _GRIFFIN_!" I practically scream, knowing he can hear me perfectly. I march through the coliseum and stomp up the stairs while Cyan forces the guards to lower their arms.

"GRIFFIN YOU _DORK_!" I shout, popping up onto the ledge to see him lounging across the couch. Griffin hardly glances over his shoulder at me, casting me a big grin.

"Little gurl, you wish to watch battle with me?" Griffin asks as he chugs some sort of alcohol.

"No, Griffin I've come to get the other foreigner." I growl, looking into the arena for whoever it could be. Oh man I hope he's alright. Griffin hasn't already hurt him as he?

"Little gurly boy is to duel. It funny, little gurl, because he no want fight," Griffin laughs as I spy two gladiators drag a boy into the arena, kicking and shouting. "Struggled, he did! What fun!"

"Griffin stop the match." I growl, tightly gripping his ear before twisting it in an attempt to hurt him. A lazy smile curls his lips up as he looks at her with hazy, alcohol induced eyes, "it's not like he trespassed on purpose!" I hiss, getting more and more desperate as four gladiators enter from the opposite side of the arena. My chest tightens as I grasp at straws to make him stop the match. He's going to kill the kid!

"Griffin if you don't stop this then I will." I gravely threaten, getting ready to book it down the stairs and unleash mass chaos beneath the arena.

"Little gurl go down there, then little gurl get attacked by mistake." Griffin deeply chuckles despite my mangling his ear in my grasp. Ugh! Does _nothing_ hurt this man?!

"You're a _real_ idiot, Griffin!" He can't even tell that I plan to I UNDER the arena and let out some lions and tigers? In the mass confusion I can hop up there, or suck him into one of the traps. Cyan won't let me die. I know he won't. I spin around and head towards the bottom of the arena, listening to Griffin's rolling laughter.

"Let see litte gurl try!" He bellows, in a deep laugh. I grit my teeth, dashing down the stairs.

Please, please don't let me be too late!

ATTICUS'S POV

"Let me go! I didn't do anything! I don't even know where I am! Augh-!" I desperately beg as they throw me to the ground. Dirt shoves into my face as I grip the sand, shooting back to my feet as I spy the gladiators stepping back and draw their swords.

"Get up and fight, Foreigner!" The faceless gladiator playfully growls. This man has no face ... wait, foreigner? Where am I? My heart stutters as I gasp. I must have been captured by the enemy and drugged. The other Nazi's were right about those Americans. They're making me fight to the death for their entertainment!

"No...!" I plead, backing away from the terrifying men. I leap to my feet and dart back, fleeing from the fearsome gladiators. "Please, I beg I you to stop! P-please! M-mom!"

"We don't have to fight! We can break out of here together, put down your sword!" I swiftly reach to my belt, shakily gripping the sheathed Bowie knife.

"Eh? Why break out? This is where all the fun is! Now pick up your blade and let's put on a good slaughter!" The gladiator happily cries, acting as if this is one big game. Without warning he lunges forward, swinging his large blade over my arm. N-No-!

"Nein! Please, nein!" I threw myself out of the way, tumbling across the dirt before scrambling to my feet. Please, please no I don't want to be here. I never wanted to be a part of this war! "M-mom, help!"

"Ha! Hear him call for his mother. Come on buddy let's put on a good show!" Another shouts as he lunges forward with his sword tip.

_CLACK_

"Eh?" As the faceless lunges forward an abnormally large tiger leaps from the trap's depths. The faceless screams as the tiger tackles him over, clamping its teeth over his throat. My eyes widen with fear as I leap back, horrified. They fight with animals here too? Mein Gott, this is a death trap-!

"Oh ho! They've decided to let out the others!" One shouts with a grin, rearing his blade towards another tiger leaping from the pit, roaring and gnashing it's teeth at the gladiators. I slowly crawl back and away from the fearsome creature, watching as it casts it's deadly, vicious gaze over me before settling onto the cheering gladiators.

"Nein, nein! Mom! Please! I don't want to be here anymore!" I shout, begging for some way to be free from this mess. It's terrifying here. They are laughing as they are being slaughtered. Adolf was right. Americans are crazed for blood-! Without warning the ground gives out, tossing me into a dark pit. He roll across a half raised ramp and onto my feet, shooting my gaze around the bars. N-No, not another cage! I gasp, spying a figure unlocking the cage before stepping inside the hall lines with bars. Nein, nein -!

JACKIE'S POV

"Ah...ha...na...gahh!" The boy rasps, backing away from me. I carefully watch as he tries to scramble back into the pit, unable to reach the top lip of the trap door to pull himself out. Just by looking at his arms up close I can already tell he wouldn't have the strength to climb out. I jolt as he screams, his pupils shrinking, falling into a crumpled mess. I take a step back as his hand whips back, snatching something behind himself. His breathing grows rapid before slowing down, a feral growl coming from his chest. U-Um ...

"Hey, hey are you alright?" I nervously ask before taking a step back. H-He has a _knife_-! Atticus immediately shoots his head up and lunges at me. The boy wildly flails the Bowie knife, diving right at me. Oh crap-! "Hey wait-!"

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL! DIE! DIE YOU BRITAINS! DIE YOU AMERICANS!" He screams at the top of his lungs.

"What?!" I shout before leaping out of the cage. My gosh - this kid is crazy! The door slams shut as I jam the key into the lock.

"NO! I WILL NOT BE LOCKED IN!" He screams, bursting through the door before I can lock it. I roll back as the door throws me against the ground, sliding onto my feet before I slide out my wrench. I-I need to calm him down somehow. He literally looks like he's crazy!

"H-hey, stop I'm here too! I'm a foreigner too!" I shout, pleading with whatever sanity is left. How new is he? Does he even know what a foreigner is?

"Lies-!" He bitingly screams, making a lunge towards me. I let out a startled cry as the young soldier tackles me, feeling the cold edge of his blade pressing against my neck.

"I either make your death slow and painful, or you let me go right now, you frau."

"H-hey, stop." I choke out, getting ready to kick him in the nuts if I need to, "I-I'm not here to hurt you-!" I gasp as his grasp weakly tightens around my throat. The boy scoffs, using his knee to pin down my legs.

"You can't lie to me, your kind kidnapped me and tortured me and my fellow soldiers! There's going to be hell to pay." He growls, pressing the edge into my neck. No, no just listen to me you nut case-!

"C-CYAN!" I shriek, ramming my leg up past his guard and right into his tender area. The soldier cries out in pain as I grip his shoulders, throwing him off to the side. He weakly rolls over as he protects his delicates, staring at me with deeply frightened eyes. I twist his wrist and pin it to the ground with my foot, laying across his torso so he can't punch me. I-I need to subdue him and talk to him. I'm not about to die trying to explain what's going on. So maybe holding him until he calms down will help? I hold his other hand down as I press my knee into his gut, applying pressure to make sure he won't try to get up and take off. He opens his mouth to scream but I very gently cup his cheek, somehow stopping the scream from coming.

"J-just _stop_ ... alright?" I heavily breathe, keeping my hold firm as my heart races. That was scary. I really thought he was going to slice me up! The soldier blinks, his pupils returning to regular size before he inwardly gasps, "Hn?! Hn-!"

"A-Are you alright?" I ask, staring at his petrified face. Of course he's not alright. Griffin just nearly had him killed for the fun of it! I'm going to have to beat him another day for being so stupid. The soldier wildly rasps, struggling against my grip.

"Hey, hey stop!" I plead, tightening my grip. If he takes off who knows who will find him next! He struggles wildly, tears falling down his face as he lets out a loud groan, nearly breaking my grip. I struggle to hold him still wracking through my brain as to how to calm him down. R-Right, what did Jay always do to me whenever I had night terrors? I quickly yank her hands back and around his shoulders, yanking him into a tightly hug. His head awkwardly smacks into my chest a little too close for comfort but I remain holding firm.

"R-relax. Please?" I plead, calmly petting his hair. Alright well, if he bites me I'll just go back to holding him down instead of doing this. The boy trembles and falls eerily quiet, only letting out the occasional frightened sob. I gently hold him in my arms, rubbing his back and lightly brushing my fingers through his short hair. Hm ... his hair is wet. But from what? It's dry air here.

"Hey, it's alright. I'll explain everything once you calm down a bit alright?" I croon, hesitating before kissing the top of his head. I remember my dad always doing that when I freaked out. After a few moments the boy nods his head, gently thumping it against my shoulder.

"A-Ah. Cyan, go get some water for him." I ask aloud, spying his silhouette which was watching the while scene unfold from the corner in the room. I wonder how long he has been there for? That's comforting and creepy, I guess. The boy cranes his head back, studying me with tired squinting eyes. My eyes latch onto his severely cracked tongue, watching as his sandpaper muscle scraps against the roof of his mouth. The soldier slowly breathes in and out, pressing his forehead into my collarbone again.

A moment later, Cyan's figure appeared before them, holding a glass of water. The soldier gently leans back out of my embrace, staring at my soft chest. I glance away ignoring his obsession that every guy likes to look at. I'm just going to give him the benefit of the doubt here. I reach over and take the glass from Cyan, putting it between his eyes and my chest. I didn't notice before but he practically face planted my chest when I pulled him into a hug. Well, at least he's calmed down now. The soldier hastily snatches the water from my hands, desperately and greedily savoring the water before gasping for air. I lightly pat his back and rub his shoulders, trying to somehow help him get all the water down.

"Thank ... thank you ... ," he mutters between gasps, hardly able to keep his focus as he teeters to the side. I gently grab his shoulders, trying to hold the boy up.

"Yeah. Now what happened? Actually." I start, glancing over my shoulder, "let's go to my house. The coliseum isn't exactly the nicest place." I say, tugging his hand with her.

"N-no...! Wha-what if the Americans catches us? I can't put you into danger for hiding me!" The boy cries, rubbing at his dirty face that was smeared with blood, dirt and tears. I stare at him and keep my grip on his one hand. A-Americans? He's scared of Americans? Why? He ... was speaking German before if I remember right. Nein is German for no.

"No, no there aren't Americans here," well except for me, "I will explain everything. I promise." I say, encouraging him to follow me. The boy hesitates before glancing around, spying his Bowie knife on the ground. I let go as he reaches down and smoothly places it back into the sheath before standing up. I warily stare at the weapon. No, I won't think too much about it.

"Al...alright, Miss...?" He breathes, still breathing hard from the scuffle from before.

"Yeah just come with me." I say, tugging him along as I look around the room. The guards are going to be here soon to see who let the animals out. I jump as Cyan holds up a notepad.

_I'll go on ahead and distract the guards, so that you can leave with the male Foreigner, Jackie._ It reads.

"Thank you Cyan." I say, lightly squeezing the boy's hand. I tug him along with me, heading towards the nearest exit that leads to the streets.

‡

Well, that's the first chapter for Atticus X Jackie. I have to admit, of all the Oc's I've seen Atticus by far is one of the greatest, easily rivaling my own character Jackie. When I heard of him I was jealous that I hadn't thought of him! **_10 REVIEWS_** for more of Atticus and Jackie. I swear it gets so much better; and FUN! I already have the next four five chapters lines up and waiting so UNLEASH THE REVIEWS!


	2. Chapter 2

I keep glancing back over the solider, unable to tear my eyes off of his uniform. That definitely doesn't look like American army attire. German ... he keeps speaking German so it's safe to assume that he himself is German. His hand lightly squeezes mine as I lead him along the road. I'm honestly afraid if I let go he's going to wander off somewhere and get lost.

His eyes never remain in one place for long. His gaze continuously flickers around the forest, jolting at a chirping bird every now and then. Why is he so jumpy? And he's so bloody ... what happened to him? I lightly squeeze his hand, catching his scattered attention for a moment.

"It's alright. You can trust me." I sweetly reassure, again squeezing his hand.

"J-Ja ... I trust you." He says, continuing to follow me like a duckling after it's mother. I snicker at the thought under my breath, happily continuing as the sky suddenly ripples to night. His arm immediately turns rigid as he rips his hand from my grasp, shooting his gaze across the starry sky.

"The day...it turned to nacht within a blink of an eye! Mein gott-!" He cries, obviously shocked at the revelation.

"Hm?" I hum, looking to the sky before it hits me, "oh yeah! Here, it changes times of day in a blink of an eye. There's really no set time like in our world. You'll get used to it. Although it did take me a little while." I sheepishly admit, thinking of the first time I experienced it. The boy lets out a shaky breath, cautiously staring at the night sky.

"Is...that so...? I take your word for it." He says, shakily looking around as the forest suddenly becomes more intimidating to his timid eye.

"Good." I smile. I'm so happy I can at least help someone. I honestly wish someone helped me so I didn't have to struggle so much when I first got here. The soldier shuffles around a bit before looking around, obviously afraid of the darkness. Behind those terrified eyes screamed a little voice for help every time a tree branch moved or an owl hooted. I lightly squeezed his hand as we reach the front gate. It's cracked open? Heh ... Boris must be back and left it open for me.

"It's fine. We're here." I cheerfully say, expecting him to find it as homey as I do.

"An ... amusement park?" He chokes out, looking at all the ominous rides. I stare at the fright already beginning to swirl around in the back of his eyes as he takes in the large park. Well ... yeah, I guess it would look scary to someone who's not used to it.

"It's perfectly safe here. I promise." I smile, gently taking his hand. His fingers interlace with mine as he lightly squeezes, obviously intimidated by all the fantastic shadows the rides cast on the ground from the moonlight. I don't know why but I always liked the shadows at night. The colors from the day completely change, becoming calmer and easier to handle.

"J-Ja?" He says, nervously looking around.

"My pride and joy. This here is my home." I proudly state, unlocking the door to my apartment. It creaks open as I flip a switch, flooding the somewhat messy room in light. He bulks at the encased space and pulls his hand back, flickering his eyes around the room. I glance back, about to say something before thinking better of it. I was going to poke fun at him but that's probably not the best thing to do at a time like this.

The soldier pauses before entering, unable to keep himself together as his shifty eyes scan the room.

"Relax, it's fine! The only danger here is Boris and he's a real sweetheart when you get to know him." I reassure, drawing his hand in. The soldier flinches before letting me take his hand.

"Yes ... okay ... thank you." He sheepishly says.

"It's not a problem! Where are you from? Germany or Russia?" I ask, excited before catching myself. Wait a minute he just got here. I doubt he would want to be interrogated.

"Sorry I got excited. It's been so long since I'm seen someone from my world!" I grin, too excited to keep it contained. This is so cool! The boy stares at before glancing away, obviously off putted by my exuberant behavior. Ah~ I've got to calm down. I'm freaking him out here.

"I, um ... my father is American, and my mother is Austrian ... my name is Atticus." He says, before I motion for him to take a seat. He hesitates before sitting on the one man couch, staring at my standing from across the small table.

"O-Oh." I say, calming myself so I don't freak him out too much. "Well, my name is Jackie. It's nice to meet you." I smile, patting his shoulder. "Would you like something to eat?"

"Lebensmittel? Is it rationed?" Atticus asks, clearly excited but held a strange resolve deep in his eyes.

"Rationed?" I repeat, taking a second look at his clothes, "no ... it's not rationed. You can have as much as you want." I say, still staring at his clothes, "those clothes ... you're in the military. But that looks like an older design."

"J-Ja, I am in military, Jackie," Atticus admits, tugging at his dirty clothes. His whole uniform is encrusted in mud, blood and something else I'm afraid to put a name to. "I was fighting in war before ... this happened."

"What? You, actually _in_ the military? How old are you?" I demand, startled. I can't believe it! I wanted to deny it from looking at him but being in the military ... he wasn't put on the front lines was he?

"Sixteen, Jackie." He answers with a childish gleam in his eyes. Sheer horror engulfs me. How dare those people-!

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" I scream, horrified at the news. He jumps, startled as I firmly but gently grab his shoulders, "are you alright? No, of course not. You were fighting and killing but you're so _young_!" I exclaim. He's two years younger than me and he's in the military? This poor kid! "H-Here, get changed. I have a pair of old sweats you can use. Go take a shower," I say, immediately becoming motherly as my instincts sink their claws into my heart.

"If you're sure ... ," Atticus sighs as he stands up. I hurry ahead of him and open the door to the bathroom, letting him step inside.

"Yes I'm sure. Wait ... are you sure you're alright?" I ask, lingering by the door as he looks around the bathroom. Forced to fight in a war ... that's terrible. No matter the reason kids shouldn't be on the battle front! It will mess them up for the rest of their lives, seeing the unimaginable horror like that. And I can see it in his eyes. His soft, yet hardened eyes which look at the world and ask 'why me?'

"I'm fine...?" Atticus asks, clearly puzzled as to why I would ask that. I worriedly cast an eye over him before nodding.

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything." I say before closing the door. I run a hand through my hair before heading to the closet, changing into a tight tank top and a pair of sweats. Maybe he wasn't on the main battlefield. Oh gosh for his sake I hope not. That's just messed up. Sick. Disgusting. Not the things he's done. No, that that. For those people or superiors to place him there ... it's frightening to even think that adults would do that to a kid.

I nervously get up and start to pace back and forth. I wonder what he would like to eat? I'll just make a simple sandwich. Nothing big. I nervously walk over to the cabinet and fridge pulling out the simple ingredients. My head twitches towards the bathroom as I hear the shower squeak off. He's done already? I quickly throw the sandwich together and set it on the table with a glass of water, snatching up the pair of big sweats.

"Hey, Atticus? I have the pants." I say, knocking on the door. I open the door slightly and reach in, looking the other way as I hold the pants out to him.

"Danke, Jackie," He mutters, sounding very grateful and sweet despite his quiet voice.

"I-It's not a problem." I say as the fabric slips from my fingers. I quickly withdraw my hand and patiently wait by the bed for him to emerge. He pops out a moment later with the towel slung over his shoulders, almost as if it's an attempt to cover his sickly thin upper half. A shiver runs down my spine as I study his skin, spying the bones poking through the unhealthy coloration. He looks so malnourished! I stare at the bandage around his arm, noticing how crisp and clean it looks. He used some of my bandages? For what? I anxiously stare at the wound before holding my tongue. If it was really bothering him I'm sure he would say something. It's probably just a scratch.

"Come here Atticus, and I will explain what happened." I beckon, patting the empty bed for him to come and sit down on. Atticus nods, hesitating to take a seat next to me before doing so.

"Where am I, Jackie? This isn't Germany ... ," he mutters, glancing out the window.

"This is a place called wonderland where logic is twisted and truth are lies." I begin, to the best of my knowledge, "And ... And ... ," I slur before slumping to the side. H-Huh? Why am I suddenly so sleepy? Atticus's eyelids suddenly grow very wavy as he tries to fight the sudden waves of sleepiness but it very soon overtakes him too. My eyes narrow as his head leans forward, resting against my collarbone before I lay against the wall. The world around us warps into darkness once more with a strange mist obscuring the furniture in the room.

"Nightmare how did you do that?" I ask aloud, looking straight up at where Nightmare is floating. Atticus twitches, unable to lift his head more than an inch from my shoulder before relaxing and staying where he was. My hands rest on his back as I openly stare at the incubus.

"Hm? What did I do?" Nightmare hums, leisurely floating above us, the picture of ease as if he is relaxing beneath the sun smoking from a hookah. His innocent smile cracks as he accusingly points at me with a fierce pout, "you were taking my job! _I'm_ the one that explains this place to foreigners."

"Then do your job." I growl, lightly squeezing Atticus's shoulders. There's no way. He needs to go back somewhere or else he'll be stuck here for the rest of his life!

"I am doing my job!" He growls before clearing his throat, turning his attention to Atticus, "now, Atticus. What would you like to know about wonderland?"

"What is this place? Why am I here? Who are you? Did the Germans...do something to me? Am I being given some sort of dosage narcotics?" Atticus slowly blinks, barely lifting his head up to roll a lazy eye towards Nightmare. He seems just so ... weak. Almost as if his will has been broken. I shiver at the thought and unconsciously hold him closer. This poor boy ... just what has he been through? Nightmares cheek twitches into a smile.

"No. You are in Wonderland, Atticus. There are no Germans here." Nightmare explains as he reaches out and pats Atticus's head.

"No Germans...? Then why am I here?" He asks, stirring a little more so he can look at the incubus face to face.

"To find 'happiness'." Nightmare smiles, glancing to me. A creeped out shiver crawls down my spine. Oh gosh ... , "Jackie, there are many ways to find happiness here. I'm just giving you another option."

"O-Option?" I stutter, thrown for a loop at the terrible explanation. Option for _what_? No, I can't let Nightmare do this to him. There has to be a way that he can leave. Nightmare's eyes tighten in that instant, making my eyes flash. There's a way?! "Wait, can he get me out of wonderland somehow?!"

" ... In a sense, yes, he could." Nightmare unwillingly admits. My eyes flash with hope for the boy. That means he hasn't taken the potion of hearts yet. Then he can escape this hell hole-!

"T-Then get him _out_! If he stays he'll be stuck here too!" I shout, prepared to raise hell if Nightmare thinks he can just toss people here and there

"You can't get out of Wonderland, Jackie?" Atticus speaks up with a frown, curiously staring at my desperation.

"No. I was forced to sink something," I start before gripping his jaws and forcing him to look at me. His eyes widen, startled as I intensely glare into his eyes with my grave message, "Atticus, whatever you do, do _not_ drink anything with a heart stopper!" I demand, voice reeking with desperation, "you can still leave wonderland if you want to."

"His being here is inevitable." Nightmare chuckles as Atticus falls silent. Nightmare cringes as I image dozens of not so nice ways of slaughtering the incubus. He nervously chuckles, backing up a tad. "A-Ah~ Jackie those are very livid. You've had a lot of time to think about them?"

"Nightmare, if _anyone_ forces Atticus to stay I'm blaming _you_." I growl with deadly precision. If anything happens to Atticus to force him to stay here, I'm going to ram a gun right up his-

"BLARGH!" Nightmare coughs, clearly unprepared to face my ultimate fury. The world starts to distort in the next instant before my eyes flutter open, spying Atticus sound asleep in my arms. I protectively tighten my grasp around Atticus. I'm not going to let anyone force him to be here like they did with me.

‡

**_10 REVIEWS_** to see just how far Jackie will go to protect Atticus from drinking the Heart Potion. Do you think she's being strangely overprotective of Atticus or do you think she would do this with any foreigner that's dropped in and doesn't want to be there? Let me know in the reviews~


	3. Chapter 3

"Wonderland ... ? Finding happiness? A heart stopper ... I think I really did lost my mind ... ," Atticus murmurs as he rubs his head, still trying to get it all to sink in.

"I thought that too when I came here," I admit with a sheepish smile, "so I understand if you don't believe me." I say, studying him as he wakes up. He's going to at least need to get to know the area a bit. I am gun how on him leaving so he isn't stuck here but if worse comes to worse I might as well get him used to the area. "I'm going to show you around today. You'll get into the swing of things soon enough."

"Alright ... can I get a shirt first?" He nervously asks.

"Oh, right sorry. Here, this is one if my baggier tank tops." I say, handing it to him. "Right after my shower we will go." I say, trotting over to the bathroom before slipping in. I heavily sigh and run a hand through my hair. Alright how is this going to work out?

ATTICUS'S POV

I pull the tank top over my head, tucking my dog tags under it. My head twitches to the side as the shower squeaks on. Why is she being so nice to me? I silently sit at the couch, patiently waiting for her to finish.

" ... she's really nice ... ," I whisper to myself, clenching his hand.

JACKIE'S POV

I finish up showering and quickly towel dry my hair. I don't want to keep him waiting for too long. I slip on some cargo pants and a black tank top before pulling my hair into a pony tail.

"Alright are you ready?" I ask as I enter the room. His head snaps up, almost startled before hastily nodding.

"V-very much so," Atticus says as he gets up from the couch. My eyes glance over the unfinished sandwich before I push him back against the chair.

"Here. Eat. You're so _thin_!" I cry, staring at his skinny limbs. My brother Jay would be appalled if he say this tiny kid. He looks like he's starving. I'm worried he might actually be anorexic.

"O-ok." He nervously stutters after a moment of examining the sandwich. His eyes dart up to my face before back to the sandwich, obviously cautious, "here ... you take a bite first." I stare at him, puzzled. Why does he want me to take a bite? Oh whatever. If it makes him comfortable then I'll do it. I make a show of picking up the sandwich before taking a big, hearty bite out of it.

ATTICUS'S POV

I carefully watch her as she removes the sandwich from her full lips, setting it back on the plate before giving me a puzzled look. I reach out and take her chin, holding her steady to see if her eyes dilate or not. Some people have immunity to poisons but their eyes immediately dilate after ingesting it. Nothing physical, but it's a mental reaction to one who knowingly just took poison. Her beautiful eyes dilate slightly, revealing that she in no way ingested poison. Knowingly at least.

"I'll eat once we get back." Maybe this poison takes time. I'll be sure to keep a close eye on her so she doesn't take the antidote when I'm not looking.

‡

JACKIE'S POV

"Well, there's the Amusement Park which I work at and then there's Clock Tower where Julius lives. Heart Castle is where Vivaldi, Ace, and Peter live and the Hatter's Mansion is where Dupre, Elliot and the twins are at. Here at the Amusement park there's Boris and Gowland. Oh! And They are all Role Holders. They have clocks instead of hearts here, with the exception of us. That's why they call us 'outsiders' and 'foreigners' at times." I say, placing a hand on his chest. I know I'm going a bit fast explaining this to him but I want to make sure I get the information out before I forget to tell him something important.

"Uhr ... ? That's so ... fremd. How can it do the proper function that the heart does?" Atticus asks more so to himself as I guide him through town. The faceless walking by cast slight glances of puzzlement before hurrying on with their daily life, hardly paying attention to us.

"I really don't know. Like I said, this world is strange." I smile, "but it starts to feel like home after a while."

"Heimat ... I doubt that." He mutters, casting wary glances around the buildings, almost as if half expecting something to pop out at him.

"And there's more. People here are ... replaceable. I'm not sure how the whole system works but that's how it's been explained to me. Even I'm trying to figure things out," I explain, taking him down the street and let him take a look around at the buildings himself. It's good that he will be able to find things on his own for later. Otherwise he would just be lost. No, no he's not going to be staying long. I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure he gets out of Wonderland safely. His hand immediately tightens it's grasp as the sky shudders to Afternoon before falling to Dusk. I hardly give the sky a second glance, pausing only when he nervously tries to tug his hand back.

"Ah~ looks like it's going to be a long evening this time around," I chuckle, "I'll just show you were the territories are and then we can explore them tomorrow. Unless you want to see them now?" I ask, letting him decide. I'm sure that while he's here he's had hardly any control over his life. I ... at least want to make him comfortable. And somehow make the transaction a little smoother.

"Oh, uh ... sure ... we can do anything as long as it doesn't bother you," Atticus says, tearing his eyes from the sky.

"We'll, I'm fine with either. I'll show you the clock tower first and then we'll head back. It's the territory closest to the Amusement Park." I explain, catching sight of the very tip of it from over the buildings.

"Oh, sure, Julius resides there, right?" Atticus says, clearly overwhelmed by the massive building as he bends back, trying to see the top of it from the angle we're at.

"Yes. He's a hermit but he's kind." I chuckle, guiding him towards Clock Tower.

ATTICUS'S POV

I eagerly follow after her, listening and absorbing every word her mouth expels which mostly entail her work at the Amusement park. My cheek twitches into a smile as I walk just behind her. She's so nice, showing me around like this. But what's this frau's motive? My eyes flash as I catch a glimpse of something in the forest.

I frown, slowing down without Jackie noticing before slipping into the bushes. This place must still be Germany, or maybe Poland. Those Americans must have really drugged me to have such a crazy fantasy dream. But the only problem is ... what is reality and what is fantasy? Is Jackie all in my mind or is she really there, working for the Americans?

"Yeah so the clock tower is here. Do you want to go inside?" Jackie's voice sweetly asks. She pauses, waiting for my answer as I keep silent. I still do not know if I can trust her completely. She might be a comfort woman for all I know, getting me to spill secrets while under the influence of the drugs.

"Atticus? H-hey, Atticus this isn't funny! Wonderland can e REALLY dangerous!" She shouts in a near panic, looking around. She ... genuinely sounds frightened for me. But then again many frau like to lie and twist the truth, just to see the naivety in men's eyes. My chest tightens at the thought of her being a spy for the enemy. I don't want her to be. Which means her mind games might be working on me?

My head snaps towards the shadow as it retreats into the woods. No, come back! I silently take off after the shadow determined to not let it get away. He or she could have answers as to how to get out of here. My head twitches as I suddenly take a turn, following after the rustling bushes. My heart pounds as I pull out my Bowie knife, getting ready to slaughter the hiding man.

"Hiya!" A brown haired man shouts, popping his head from the bushes to my left. My eyes widen before I jolt back, feeling my heart pounding insanely loud as I clutch my chest in horror. I-I-I must have fallen into his trap!

"Ghh!" I grunt, turning around with the knife up as I face the smiling man. N-No. I must remain strong. If I falter he will kill me without mercy.

"Whoa! You're a fun foreigner!" He shouts, easily blocking with a large sword. "Hey ... You aren't planning to leave anytime soon are ya? That's no fun."

"I ... ah ... ," I gasp, seeing the larger weapon. N-No ... he's going to slice me in half with that!

"Hey! I know!" Ace grins, pulling out a stopper with a heart on it. "This is so you don't run away from the wonderful wonderful game~," he sings, leering over the smaller boy. My eyes widen as Jackie's words replay in my head. _'Atticus, whatever you do, do NOT drink anything with a heart stopper!'._ Horror fills my aching chest as I back up. The heart stopper ... it's not poison is it? It must be! Mien Gott he's going to kill me! I spin around towards the path I came down, jerking back as a strong arm warps around my waist and yanks me back.

"Awe that's no fun! Here, as a knight, I will help you show you jaw it's done." He grins while holding me across the chest with one arm, popping the stopper off. I incredulously watch as he slurps down the liquid, his cheeks puffing out slightly as he stores it in his cheeks. My breath grows panicky, my grip on the Bowie knife growing tighter.

"Let ... let me go! I'll stab you!" I desperately cry, struggling to get a good angle. A frightened choking cry slides out my throat as his blade flashes before my face, forcing me to press against him unless I wanted half my face to be cut away. "A-A-Ah, ghh, eeeekk-!"

"Ha ha! You're funny! I like you." Ace seductively purrs as he snatches my chin in his grasp. My eyes grow wide as the man's sick lips press against mine, shooting disgust and fright down my spine. Mien Gott he's _gay_! The bitter icy fluid enters my mouth, stabbing at my sensitive tongue. My tongue presses to the roof of my mouth to stop the poison from crawling down my throat.

"Awe~ no fun!" The man pouts before pinching my nose shut and reconnecting our lips. I struggle to breathe before his lips leave with a small pop, leaving the me dazed and horrified. A man ... I just kissed a man ... A disgusted shiver rivets down my spine as I shove the lunatic away, grasping at my chest. N-No, no no no! He just made me drink poison I _know_ he did!

"I'M GONNA KILL YAA!" I scream, my grip on the Bowie knife tightening before my pupils dilated. My heart pounds hard before suddenly freezing, taking on a whole new face.

"Oh~ so fun!" The knight shouts, dodging the attack. My lips curl up into a vicious grin as I whip the blade around, barely skimming his cheek. I madly grin before dancing back, flipping the Bowie knife up and catching it for a better grip. "I'm going to have a tolle zeit cutting. You. _Up_!"

"Yeah? Sounds like fun!" The knight shouts, lunging faster than the eye can track. I hastily sidestep the powerful swing, sliding the edge of the knife down the sword length and to his fingers. The knight easily dips beneath the next swipe and rams his shoulder into my gut.

"Geh-!" I shout, flying back and hitting a tree. I try to jump up but freeze as his blade touches my throat. Verdammt! He's way out of my league ... for now, anyway.

"Hey, if you're going to go swinging that around learn how to actually land a hit. So boring!" The knight complains, tapping my head as a seething rage grows in my chest. I'll kill him ... I'm going to slaughter this fick if it's the last thing I do! "And bulk up a little. You look thinner than a twig!" My fingers grab at the broad side of the sword, growling at him.

I'm going to murder you, you ugly fick.

"Oh ho~ you're going to get bloody doing something so desperate like that." The knight grins as he tilts the blade, digging the edge into my fingers. Still I do not relent, glaring at the man as he grasps the sword. "Heh ... I like those eyes. They remind me of Mr. Lizard when he was younger. But, you're too weak to be compared to him," he sighs, clearly disappointed, "I was hoping you would have more bite than this."

"Oh you'll get a bite, fick, it's only a matter of time when I regain my strength," I hiss at the now smiling knight. I can't wait to get stronger. And I'll do it too. The moment I'm strong enough I'm going to bury his own blade into his throat and watch the life drain from this fick's eyes.

"I look forward to it." The knight smiles before drawing back. "Come back and bite me when you're stronger." He taunts, winking before adeptly leaving.

"What a gay ficken!" I hiss, getting up and licking my bloodied fingers. The sweet taste of metal and salt bring little comfort knowing that it is my own. "Hmph."

I look around the clearing spying my knife by the stump of a tree. I stare at my eye's reflection before a wicked grin curls my lips up. I can't wait to plunge this into his chest and hear his last, dying huffs of breathe and watch the life drain from his eyes. It's enthralling to see someone's life be sucked out of their bodies with a few swift motions of the blade.

"But first, I need to find that little miss goody goody frau~ thinking she can trick me. Mein gott ... she makes me _sick_!"

JACKIE'S POV

I heavily breathe and desperately search the streets for him. When did he run off? I didn't even notice that he wandered off. Ugh, what an idiot! I'm trying to help him here so don't run off on me whenever you feel like it. And night's coming soon. I retraced all my steps but I can't find him anywhere. I step over by the tree and look behind it.

"Not here," I say as I walk around the tree. Seriously where did that dork go? I jump, hearing someone stumble as I pop out from the other side. My eyes catch sight of his army clothing making a smile spread across my face. There he is!

"There you are Atticus-what are you doing?" I ask, spying a not so stable look in his eye and the knife buried into the tree where I was just at. My heart sinks as I realize what just happened. He must have been sneaking up behind me and I moved just as he lunged at me. H-H-He just ... tried to stab me. I knew it ... I _knew_ being in that war would mess him up!

"Wipe that smile off your face." Atticus hatefully spits, his unstable eyes glaring daggers at me. I stare at him, completely thrown for a loop as I put some distance between us. W-What happened to Atticus? Was he faking this entire time? No way ... there's no _way_ anyone could be that good of an actor! He grits his teeth as he shoves his foot against the tree, ripping the blade out.

"H-Hey, what happened to your neck?" I pipe up noticing a shallow cut. Did he run into someone?

"A f***in' soldier attacked me and made me drink some sort of horse piss, that's what! Go on, laugh, I'll be dying any minute now, but if I am you're coming with me!" Atticus yells as he lunges after me. My horror washes away almost immediately as I wait for him to get closer, skillfully grabbing his wrist and whipping my leg behind his knee. He growls as I flip him over my back, stepping on his wrist with the blade and subdue him the exact same way as I had before.

"A soldier? Wait, you drank the potion?!" I shout, more horrified at his future than the fact he just tried to kill me.

Now he's trapped here just like me.

"WHEN I GET MY FULL STRENGTH BACK, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU LITTLE MAUS, I SWEAR TO MEIN GOTT!" Atticus growled, struggling against my grasp.

"Hey, hey! _Who_ gave you the drink?" I demand, struggling with the boy. Geh, he's stronger than he looks despite being so scrawny. I grit my teeth and shift my knee to his groin before jerking my weight down as a light warning. "Who made it so you're stuck here?"

" ... This gay soldier. He wore a red trench coat." He sneers, hardly able to move his arm an inch from my grasp. He's so weak ... I feel almost bad for taking him out so easily.

"Ace." I bitingly growl. I should have known that doofus would go and do something like that. I look at him as my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. "I'm sorry, Atticus, but now you can't leave. It happened to me and Alice too. You have to complete the game before you can go home-,"

"Tch-! Shut up!" Atticus hisses, trying to shove me off, "I'll kill you!"

"Why would you want to kill me?" I ask, bewildered. I did nothing but help him and now he wants to kill me?

"You are beneath our kind, you _American_." He hisses, spitting a wad onto my cheek. "Nothing but dirt, you dirty Jew!" Rage courses through my veins as I whip my arm back and deliver a crushing blow across his jaw. He coughs, jerking as I roughly grip his jaws, forcing him to look at me. I grit my teeth, struggling to hold back a round of beatings.

"Say it again and I will throttle you senseless." I will not take any of this bull he's spouting. I'm lower than him? _Pathetic_. That's the kind of thinking that started World War 2. "How can I be beneath you if _I'm_ the one beating the crap out of you?"

"Wait until the rest of the Nazi soldiers come and get you! They will assist me in torturing you!" He roars, unable to break my tightening grasps. Wow. I really actually want to break something on him. How is it possible for anyone to be this ignorant?

"They're not coming," I callously sneer. I get it. He's a hardcore Nazi that hates everyone except for themselves. I'm not going to even bother dealing with crap like that, "this is _Wonderland_. This is not Germany, this is not America. Those _do not exist here_."

"Quiet! This isn't Wonderland, you _Jew_! This is Germany! And you gave me some sort of narcotics to make me believe this is some other world!" He hisses, grabbing my wrists, "I'm going to cut you up good, I'll teach you how to fear us Nazis!"

I bulk as he throws me to the side, rolling to his feet. Seething rage sears through my chest as I glare at him.

"Fine. I'm going to show you just how weak you are, Nazi." I say in a deathly cold voice. Heck, I'm not even Jewish and this guy is pissing me off to the point I wouldn't mind throwing him off a small ... medium ... ok _fine_; a large cliff with a cushion on the bottom. He snarls before launching forward, rearing his arm back to punch me across the face. My eyes narrow as I simply raise my leg at the last second, feeling something very precious to him crunch beneath my foot.

"Argh! You cheating, filthy American!" He hisses as his hands clutch a very sensitive part of his body. I numbly roll my eyes and kick the Bowie knife out of his grasp, watching as it skids across the field.

"Calm down you dork. I'll stop when you stop treating me like trash." I growl, keeping a safe distance from him. He stumbles to his feet, hesitantly moving his hand from his crotch before dangerously leering at me with a sneer full of hate.

"Calm down? _Calm down_?! I'M GOING TO CASTRATE YOU!" He screams in a bloody rage before jerking forward. I grit my teeth as my rage begins to boil. How could he think someone is trash? That's so _inhuman_! I dodge and ram a fist into his sunken in stomach before gripping his hair, kneeing him in the gut. He wetly hacks as I bring him to the ground, pinning him beneath my foot.

"Atticus, come to your senses! You're just scared! I'm sorry I have to hurt you, but you're going too far!" I hiss as Atticus' face twists in pain before he suddenly stops moving. I pause, staring at his motionless body. I breathe hard as I stare at him. Did I hit him too hard? His feral breathing softens as he opens his eyes slowly, the insane look disappearing.

"What ... what happened? Huh ... ? What ... ? Where did that homosexual man go?! What poison did he make me drink?!" He shrieks, hyperventilating as his pupils beginning to slowly shrink with fear. "Hhh...! Hhhhh!"

"Hey, hey!" I growl watching him grimace in pain. What's going on with him? Is he trying to trick me again? B-But ... he looks so mortified that it hurts.

"Ohhh ... oww! W-What's going on?" Atticus groans, biting his lower lip as he rolls over, clutching his man parts. My eyes narrow at the possibly ploy, tempted to stomp my foot right over his filthy mouth.

"Y-You just tried to kill me, _Nazi_." I growl, nudging his side with my foot.

"N-Nazi?! Where?! Don't let them get me, please!" He shouts, immediately flipping to his feet before falling.

"Why are you talking about?" I ask, startled before angrily demanding, "are you _trying_ to piss me off by playing dumb?" My chest tightens as tears roll over his cheeks, completely and utterly terrified.

"They'll take me back ... I don't want to go back, please I beg of you!" He desperately pleads, grabbing my pant leg, chest heaving with fright as he searches my eyes for any sense of mercy. My eyes narrow in confusion.

"T-take you back? Who? Ok, come with me." I say, dragging the nearly sobbing boy back to my room. The entire time the boy shriveled back, unwilling to follow me but having no other place to go. His hand shakily grasps mine, relying on my stability for balance. I slyly glance over my shoulder, eyeing up the trembling boy.

What in the world is going on with him?

‡

"Alright, Atticus. Talk to me. What happened before you came?" I ask, turning around to see him sitting on the couch in my apartment before I lock the door.

"_Before_ I came to this place ... ?" Atticus asks, too frazzled to understand as he wipes away the embarrassing remains of his tears.

"Yes." I demand. I'm sick of beating around the bush. It's about time to torch the things and figure out what the heck is going on with him. His eyes widen as he searches blindly for words to say before choking, burying his moist eyes into his hands.

"I don't know if I can-! A civilian shouldn't know what we German soldiers have to go through ... ," he murmurs, petrified as he stares at the ground with wide eyes. His hands clutch his arms as he hugs himself, as if trying to keep himself from falling apart. I sympathetically stare before kneeling next to him on the couch. His frightened eyes dart in my direction, locking onto my softened eyes.

"It's ... fine. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to. Just, just don't let it consume you alright?" I softly say, lightly rubbing his knee as I try to comfort him.

" ... This war is ridiculous ... ," Atticus whines before slightly slumping forward. I bulk as I shoot up, gently pushing his shoulders back.

"Whoa, whoa hey Atticus-oh man he is _out_. Is he alright?" I ask aloud, laying his back across the couch. I nervously watch him trying to decide what to do. He would definitely sleep better on the bed but can I move him? I wouldn't be surprised if I could though I mean he's so freaking _skinny_!

I gently slide my arms beneath the boy and lift him up, finding him very light. Whoa, he barely weights anything at all! That's it the next time I make him food I'm either going to watch him eat it or shove it down his throat. A sixteen year old shouldn't be this thin to the extreme. It's unhealthy. I trot off and lay him on the bed, pulling the covers over him as I sweep a piece of hair out of his eye.

I nervously step back wanting to do more but not sure what I should do. How else can I help him? He is obviously mentally unstable to the near extremes. How am I supposed to help? I'm not certified for any of this! And everyone here would just mess him up even more.

"There has to be someone here that can talk to him ... why does it feel like I'm the only one who can comfort him?" I groan, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Curse my bleeding heart ... hm? Oh, his dog tags are falling out. I lean forward, balancing the dog tags in my palm and read over the writing. It's in English? I tilt my head, glancing over the writing. My heart sinks as I cast my eyes over the sleeping boy. N-No way ... and at such a young age?

'Atticus. Split Personality Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.'

"Ohhhhh crap yeah that's not good." I groan, running a hand through my hair. No, that makes sense. Atticus is - well, _was_ - a young boy soldier so of course he would have a split personality. One side to hang on to reality and the other to cope with pain.

I slump against the wall at the foot of the bed trying to sort through my thoughts. Atticus probably doesn't know he has this, even though the dog tags say so. Can he read? But, it's in English so he might not be able to read it himself. No, how could no one have told him about a double personality? He _has_ to know about it to some extent

But he acted like he didn't remember. So ... does he know or not?

‡

So~ what do YOU think? Does Atticus know about his mental problems or is he oblivious to them? **_10 REVIEWS_** to find out!


	4. Chapter 4

The stiff muscles slow my movements as I sleepily inhale, stretching my sore muscles out against the couch. I flinch but continue to stretch as the couch cracks my back, groaning in the back of my throat before slumping forward. The light brightly shines through the open shades, hurting my eyes as I sleepily rub them. Ugh I'm tired ...

I glance over to the bed finding it neatly made and smooth. Huh. Whenever I make my bed usually the sheets are bunched up at the bottom and the covers are flung somewhere off the side. I blink, searching the room for Atticus. Where did he go? My head twitches towards the bathroom with the light on, hearing the shower squeak shut.

After a few moments Atticus comes out, wearing the sweat pants but no shirt, showing his embarrassingly thin upper body. "The tank top got dirty inside. Sorry ... ,"

"Oh, it's fine. Here." I say pulling out a tighter tank top from the box within the closet. "This should work for now while we look for new clothes."

"Look for new clothes?" Atticus asks, puzzled. I turn and try to put on the best smile I can despite the circumstances.

"Yeah. You'll be needing some." I sadly note. Because you drank the lotion you're stuck here. Just like I , waiting for Alice to finish her game before mine can start.

"Hey, don't sound sad, Jackie ... ," Atticus quickly pulls the tank top over and walks to me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It'll be okay."

"It's not me that I'm worried about, Atticus. It's _you_. Wonderland is a crazy place." I say, biting my inner lip. If I had been a little more aware then maybe this wouldn't have happened.

I've practically doomed him.

"If I stay with you, I'm sure I'll be okay if I play my cards right," Atticus says, trying his best to comfort me despite his dire situation. An ill humorous laugh bubble past my lips as I head out the main door, waiting for him to catch up.

"Yeah." That worked out real good before didn't it? Bc now you're stuck. Atticus obediently follows after me, wisely remaining quiet as I guide him through the park. I'm glad I slept in my clothes from yesterday. All I needed to do was throw my hair into a pony tail and hope I don't look too messy. Not that I really care at this point. All I'm doing is clothes shopping with Atticus.

"Whoa, the new Foreigner is a guy?" Boris's voice asks. I turn around spying Boris approaching with his natural feline curiosity leading him.

"Oh uh, yeah. This is Atticus." I introduce, gesturing over the timid boy who simply nods. His tail twitches as he steps up to the shorter man, leaning over him as he curiously observed him. His ear closest to Atticus flickers, probably listening to his heart to confirm that Atticus really is a foreigner.

"I didn't think guys could come here." Boris said, lightly sniffing at air by him.

"Yeah? Why is that?" I ask, curious or his reasoning.

"Well, since most of us Role Holders are male, I thought only girls could come here," Boris muses, tapping a finger to Atticus's chest. He obediently holds still, warily watching the cat circle him. Atticus jolts as Boris's tail slides across his back, his fingers trembling as he cautiously watched the cat's gait.

"I was surprised too." I admit casting a quick glance at Atticus. Why is Atticus so edgy? Does he not like cats?

"Yeah. Hey, do you like gun fights?" Boris suddenly asks as a spark of excitement flashes through his eyes. Atticus quickly retreats from the cat as I step in front of him, prepared to push Boris back if he tried anything.

"Boris knock it off. Foreigners don't like guns." I huff, trying to move around him with Atticus glued to my hip

"Oh, come on Jackie, _all_ guys love guns!" He cries with a grin, leaning to the side to get a better look at Atticus.

"N-not me," Atticus says, nervously swallowing.

"Boris, NO foreigners would like a gun fight. We can die easier than you can." I growl, getting ready to pop him in the chest.

"Man, you make everything boring!" Boris pouts, clearly disappointed.

"Go chase Pierce or something." I wave him off, tugging Atticus along and away from

Boris.

"Hey!" Boris cries, not wanting to let his prey get away but too lazy to follow it at the moment.

"Um-," Atticus begins before I tug on his sleeve.

"Ignore him Atticus."

"O-ok." He quietly says. A mild surprise crawls across my face as his fingers entwine with mine, gently holding onto my fingers with little intention of letting go. My cheek twitches into a smile as I lead him into a nearby store closer to the Amusement Park.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any ration coupons on me to get anything," Atticus sheepishly says. He slips his free hand into his pockets fishing out nothing. "Those Americans took everything."

"No, it's fine. Gowland is paying for it." I smile. He needs to pay for practically destroying the ticket booth by blowing it to smithereens. I'm _still_ pissed about that.

"Who's Gowland?" He asks.

"My boss. Oh this would look good." I say, picking out a particular short sleeved black shirt. I don't normally like shopping but playing dress up every now and then can be fun. Especially since I soldier style and cameo colors would look best on him.

"Is there anything I could help you with today?" A worker sweetly asks, glancing over the frail boy.

"Yeah. He needs a new wardrobe and it's all going on Gowland's tab." I smile watching as her face immediately brightens up at the thought of a large influx of cash coming her way today.

"Excellent! Any particular favorites?"

"I-I don't want to spend too much-,"

"Let's see what you've got that has to do with anything black and cameo. Nothing fancy, mostly casual." I smile, patting Atticus's shoulder.

"You're getting some clothes whether you like it or not. Besides, if you're really self conscious about it then you can work at the Amusement Park to pay it off." I smile, trying to help that frown curl upwards instead. He nervously studies me for a moment before glancing away with a faint smile.

"Well, oh, I-,"

"Here you are~!" The woman happily cries, dumping large armfuls of clothes into his arms. He jolts and tilts forward, nearly losing his footing before I grab the front and help him balance the clothes in his arms. He grapples at the monstrous pile, staring incredulously at the number of clothing.

"S-Shopping with women is scary ... ," he mutters, wobbling off towards the dressing rooms with the young woman helping him.

"Here, go try them on." The woman encourages, clearly thrilled to be getting such a large lump of cash. Oh she's bent on selling us the entire store I can already tell. Oh well. It's on Mary's expense and since I'm pissed at him I'm going to spend however much the hell I want.

"Um, sure..." Atticus agrees before the woman pushes him into the dressing room. "Wah!"

"Let me know if they fit alright. If not I'll go get a different size for you." The woman sweetly offers as I take my seat in front of the dressing room, intent on waiting for him to finish to the end.

"No, no, they fit well, I need clothes that are a size or two larger than me," Atticus says from behind the curtain. In an instant the woman is off, gathering up a few different pants in a larger size before neatly sliding them through the curtain. Oh ho~ I bet she's wanting a tip too.

"Do you like baggy clothes?" I ask, curious.

"Well, you know, in case if I gain back some weight." He says as the curtain is gently pushed to the side. He steps out wearing a black tank top and camouflage pants. "Is this good?"

"It looks _great_." I smile, looking over the other clothes as well.

Oh Gowland is just plain screwed.

‡

"O-oh...! I'm still getting used to that." Atticus says, jolting as the sky shifts to Night. Hm. We were in there for a while. I checked the watch and was shocked to see that it had been hours since we first went in. I'll bet Atticus is wiped out. I know I would be after the first half hour of trying on clothes and such.

"It's fine. It took me the longest time to get used to it." I smile, slipping through the wide open gates.

"Give me a minute I've got to lock up." I set the bags on the ground and close the large gates, bringing around the large padlock for it and stiffly turn the large key in the keyhole.

"R-right." He says, arms trembling from the weight of the bags. Heh. I guess we did buy too much. Poor Gowland~ not. I don't feel sorry for him at all after all the hell he's put me through ever since I first got here.

_BANG BANG_

"EEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!" Pierce shrieks in the distance. I jump as pierce zooms out from an alley with a bloodied arm. My eyes widen before I spy his intact coat, noticing no cut marks on him. There's a good possibility that isn't his blood. I shiver at the thought and watch the mouse as he dashes past a frightened Atticus, making a lunge for me.

"J-Jackie~!" He squeals as a fork digs into his head. I cringe in sympathy, spying Boris clutching the handle of the weapon. Ugh ... stupid cat.

"You're mine!" Boris growls in a frightening voice. Pierce immediately takes off, teary eyed as he heads for an alley.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"Boris! Quit it-," I start, jumping as I hear Atticus drop the bags.

"NO!" He shouts, frightened before running off with bright wide eyes.

"Hey wait-oh come _on_!" I shout, dashing after him and abandon my own bags. "Atticus come here alright? He won't bug you if you're in the apartment!" I shout trying to make him calm down, or at least head towards the apartment.

"The gun shots! Jackie-,"

_BANG BANG BANG_

"Boris knock it off or take it elsewhere!" I shout, pissed off that he would go and freak Atticus out like this. I turn back to Atticus, glaring at his backside. "Look just stop running alright?"

"Or _what_?" Atticus darkly chuckles. He glares over his shoulder, a feral look in his eyes as he sneers. He turns on his heel, whipping the Bowie knife out and dashes straight towards her. My eyes bug open as I realize what's happened.

He's switched to his darker self.

"Whoa whoa _whoa_ wait a minute Atticus!" I shout, skidding to a halt before dashing down the road. "H-hey why are _you_ chasing _me_?!"

"Run little maus, HAHAHAHAAA!" Atticus madly screams, dashing after me with a mad look in his eye. Oh man - can't I go one day without him changing on me?!

"What the heck Atticus!" I shout, catching a glimpse of his crazed eyes. Post traumatic stress disorder and a split personality ... Oh _man_ this is bad! I grit my teeth making a sharp turn towards a large old, mansion looking building.

I'm going to lose him in the house of mirrors.

‡

Oh ho ho~ does this seem familiar to anyone? Who thinks they have a good idea as to what's going to happen in the house of mirrors? **_10 REVIEWS_** telling me your thoughts on the chapter for the next one~ Which is one of my personal favorites. I couldn't stop laughing when I wrote it! XD


	5. Chapter 5

I intently listen to his heavy breaking close behind me while I dart through the mazes on the first floor. Is he already out of breath? Good. All the better for me to give him hell. Every turn puts him a tad further behind as I dup beneath a column, heading him smack his head against the hard to see lower ceiling.

"Ficken!" He shouts at the top of his lungs before growling, dashing after me not too far behind. I dive into the center of a small opening, spinning around to see him lunging forward.

"Gotcha-!" He screams, leaping from the darkness with the Bowie knife in hand. I slap the secret switch and spring upwards three flights. I crouch down and hug the platform, watching the edges as gravity heavily weighs me down. My throat lets out a sharp squeak as the platform makes a sudden stop, popping me into the air and onto the ground.

My chin smacks into the hard ground, making a groan slide from my lips. Ow ... I'm going to have to remember to recalibrate the springs on that thing. My fingers tap into something, listening to it skid across the ground a foot. I glance over spying his bowie knife lying on the ground. Oh man ... that was _really_ close! I slide the knife into my hands, glancing around. I don't want to hide it. He might find it. I slip out the velvet case which has picking tools and wrap it around the blade tightly before slipping it into my pants pocket. Well, at least now he can't skewer me to death.

But what now? He's climbing the stairs now if he's found them and will be up here not too long from now. I shakily exhale as I get my blood running, hopping from foot to foot.

Let me show you how terrifying this engineer can be, darker side of Atticus.

ATTICUS'S POV

The stairs creak under the heavy steel tipped boots, my cheeks twitching into smiles every once in a while. Where did that annoying frau go? Feh ... coward woman fleeing from me. But I'll hunt her down soon enough and see her beautiful blood run, trickling through my fingers as I play with her organs. I always thought it was fun reorganizing the body parts.

"Cut her from the tip of her toes to the top of her head ... let's see that beautiful red dress her in death." I sing loud and clear for her to hear, waiting for fear to strike her heart. "I'm going to find you, little maus. You cannot run for long..

"I'm sick of you trying to kill me, Atticus." Her voice growls from atop the stairs. I pause and glance at the staircase, grinning at her stupidity. It's like she's leading me right to her.

"It's only until you die is when I shall give up, my little liebe~," I chuckle, trudging up the stairs as quietly as I can. Her voice came from right up top and I did not hear her move so she should be there still. My fingers curl into a fist before I grip the railing and whip around, launching my fist into the darkness.

"FICKEN!" I scream at the top of my lungs, quickly withdrawing my hand. A speaker?

"Humph." She huffs as the speakers crackle. She's using speakers now? It was so clear I thought it was actually her.

"You're smarter than you look, Maus." I sneer, leering around the room for the real maus. A short of breath, a misplaced foot, a small squeak ... anything.

"Hmhm ... ," I scan the room for any imperfections, anything that could tell me where she had moved around. "There has to be something here. No maus is completely clean."

"Like it? See all the reflections? Go ahead and find me. I'm going to how you just how flawed your thinking is about being a superior race." Her voice drifts in from every angle. I turn in a complete circle searching for a wisp of hair or a brush of fabric. More speakers? No ... it's the design of the room that's amplifying her voice.

"We Germans are superior to _all_!" I growl, clenching my fists while glaring at a certain mirror. How dare that maus think that she's as great as us Germans!

"Yeah? Then let me show you what we _Americans_ think if that logic!" She shouts, the speakers crackling. I scoff, gliding my fingers over the mirror.

"Oh we'll see-!" I pull back my fist and slam it against the glass, watching with satisfaction as the glass cracks and falls to the ground in pieces. I pull my bloodied fist back, licking at the salty red blood streaming down my fist. "Hmph."

"Go ahead and break them all. There are 8 floors of mirrors and tricks." The little maus purrs into the microphone before her feet taps to the ground, fading with the speakers.

"Ah, then that's all I need to hear." I smirk, listening intently to the deaf sounds of her footsteps. I snap around smacking right into a two way mirror and stumble back. My eyes widen as I hold my nose, shocked. That mirror wasn't there before was it?

"Tch." I turn away, heading for the stairs as I listen in on Jackie's footsteps on the intercom. It sounds like, although faint, that she is jogging up some stairs.

_BAM_

"How many false mirrors are there?!" I angrily scream, punching my fist right through the mirror. It breaks in a fantastic array of designs, many of which are sharp edges. That frau ... how long is she going to keep me running in circles before I can cut her up?

"Hey, how long can you keep this up?" Jackie voice asks from seemingly nowhere.

"Enough to find you and kill you!" I hatefully spit, on the verge of ripping every mirror off its hinges just so I can find the little maus's hiding spot.

"Have fun with that NAZI." She spits, making my blood boil with rage. This stupid frau! That maus actually thinks she can get away playing with me like this?!

"Hup!" I dash for a mirror, smashing it. Instead of my fist stopping it flies all the way through, revealing a pathway of hidden stairs. A vicious grin pulls my lips up as I hear a subtle quick inhale and her feet tapping away. I dash to the top of the stairs, freezing as I listen for her footsteps which suddenly fall dead silent. My eyes roll around the room, searching for her.

"Little Maus~, where are~ you?" I sing, trotting through the one sided mirrors.

"Follow my voice, kitty." She beautifully taunts, purposefully stomping her feet hard as she ran. Heh ... so little maus _wants_ to be found? Fun.

"Oh, I _shall_!" I grin as I dash off after the sound of her footsteps.

JACKIE'S POV

My heart races as I hear his footsteps growing louder. He's caught up to me already? I dip and dive through the maze, dashing through a large opening and into a circle of tall mirrors. I turn around to face him just as he enters the hall, glancing around at the mirrors before looking straight ahead. I smile and place my hand against the wall, curling my finger to beckon him closer.

"Alright, you got me. Come slice me up kitty cat." I hum, waiting for him to make a stupid move. His eyes tighten as he straightens up, eyes flashing.

"This little maus has something up her sleeve." Atticus says as he crosses his arms.

"Of course I do." I simply state, waiting for him to make his move before taunting, "Think the Nazi is strong enough to handle it?"

"Alright, Maus." He chuckles, slowly taking a step forward.

I wait.

And wait.

He pauses, thinking something over. My eyes narrows before I reach into my pocket and pull out his knife, taunting him with it.

"Aren't you going to come and get it?" I tease, waving it in the air. His cautious eyes flash as he eyes the knife before stepping closer. He carefully approaches the center with a demonic grin.

"I'm going to have your blood today, maus." He grins, touching the tip of his tongue against his fingers. My cheek twitches into a smile as I watch him draw closer to the mirror.

"Yeah?" Idiot.

"Definitely, Maus." Atticus snickers, whipping forward with his fist clenched.

"Ah-!" I jump, mirroring the true position. My eyes widen as he whips around, locking eyes with me. A sinister grin pulls his lips up and he whips his arm out, crushing the reflection to pieces. I nervously lick my lips and knead the knife's handle in my hand. Crap ... he found the real me.

"Ha ... so the little Maus is going to stab me?" He mocks, cockily waltzing over to me. Yeah like I'm going to let you approach me that easily. I touch the wall, opening a trap door just by his feet. His eyes flash as he leaps back, glaring at the trap before smirking. "Ha ... missed me, Maus."

"Wasn't aiming for you." I coldly growl, tossing the knife into the pitfall. His eyes greedily follow the blade into the hole, clearly craving to have it on his person. I think it's best to remove the knife from the equation for now. He could take it and use it against me if I'm not careful. "You want it? Go get it."

"My knife ... well then, if you dare me, then I shall," Atticus smugly smirks, darting forward and jumping into the pitfall. My mouth parts in shock at his stupidity. He's ... really that stupid? I guess he misjudged how deep it was. I lift my hand and close the trap, making sure he can't climb back out. Well, this just puts him back on the first floor. I shrug, trotting off to the next level. I'll just wait for the stupid head there.

ATTICUS'S POV

The fall is deeper than the I expected. A cool smile crosses my lips as I spy the ground not too far below. My knees painfully bend as I harshly land on the ground, waiting a few moments to get over the shock before standing up. It's a good thing there's a cushion here but the landing was still rough. I chuckle, imagine someone breaking their legs from a fall like that. I like this place. I scoop up my Bowie knife and jog towards the light revealing a creaky woode staircase.

"What an interesting maus." I mutter to myself, scurrying up the flights of steps and skip the previous levels. She wouldn't have gone back down. She just wants to have some fun with me, not hide.

"And what a bold frau she is." I mutter, reaching the last floor fairly quickly. I step into a world filled with fragments of light, color and shadows speckled on the wall along with calm, soothing music playing in the background. I blink, hesitantly reaching in front of me but felt no wall. Where are the walls in here? This room looks like it has no end it's so large.

"Nice place you've got here, Maus," I snicker, my eyes traveling the flowing lights. I can't see anything right. Everything is in fractured pieces, making the entire room look massive when in reality it's probably only about twenty feet large.

"Designed it along with Gowland. He's a genius engineer." Her musical voice floats in from all directions.

"Quite impressive. I never saw something like this," I admit, admiring the colors, "you could have added more red."

"Would have, could have, should have. What's the difference?" Her voice asks as something makes a loud clang to his left. A flicker of her hair catches my eye as I whip forward, ramming straight into a thick wall of unbreakable fractured glass. I stumble back, clutching my nose as I glare at the thick wall. I didn't even see that there. I thought it was further away.

"There you are, maus. My, my, such a wonderful fortress you get to hide behind," I hiss as I bang against the glass. My eyes drift over the glass. It's not breaking. This must be of sturdier make.

"Think so?" She ask as her hair flickers again to my left. My eyes flash as my hand juts out ramming into another wall and jamming my finger. Where are the actual halls that she's running and where are the walls? I shake out my hand running a wary eye around the room.

"Clever girl ... ," I mutter, unable to even tell where the closest wall is despite hitting it moments ago.

"What's wrong Nazi? Can't find the halls?" She taunts as her laughter echoed through the entire room. Where is her voice coming from? "This entire building is meant for illusions. I thought you would be smart enough to figure it out."

"Hold your tongue," I spit, tapping the knife against the glass. I don't get it. This entire room is one large illusion.

"But why? You like to talk so much about how stupid I am so why am I not allowed to talk in comparison to you?" She asks as something clicks behind me. I whip around with the blade in hand, tripping over the surface and sprawling over the floor. W-what? I glare at the floors bumpy surface before placing my ear against the ground and looking over the obstacles. Heh ... clever maus. The way the glass shards reflect light here makes it look like actual bumps and divots all over the place when in reality there are only two or three. I grin and begin to army crawl through the maze, keeping my eyes close to the ground. I've got it. Now where did my blade go? My eyes scan the ground for my blade but only fractured pieces of it all over the room give me hints as to where it is. From what angle could it be at to do that?

"So what now that you've lost your knife?" She asks aloud. My head snaps up, spying her delicate hand reach out and pluck the blade off the ground.

"Hey-!" I cry, trying to grab at it but Jackie already successfully snatched it away.

JACKIE'S POV

"FICKEN!" He shouts, clearly on the edge of frustration as he hits the ground like a kid going through a temper tantrum. Oh this is just too much fun. I know the interior of this place like the back of my hand and he thinks he can beat me here? Fat chance.

I whip down the memorized hall, ducking beneath a smaller passage and slide the knife within the tool cabinet. From the angle he will only be able to see the blade but will never be able to actually find it.

And now I have the advantage.

"FINE! Take it! I will choke the life out of you just as easily!" He shouts as he begins to get visibly frustrated, "come and face me, you coward American maus!"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask as I pop my head into the clearing. He whips around and punches the fractured glass, glaring all around for the real me. Heh. Stupid.

"Come out, come out wherever you are little maus~," He sings, viciously hissing the last part as his left eye twitches, "this must be some sort of torture chamber. How cute ... ,"

"Then follow my voice." I encourage, hearing it all come from one direction. This is actually kind of cute seeing him so lost like this.

"Then I shall." I watch the mirror pieces as he steps forward, listening intently to my voice.

"Alright. Then just keep following me this way." I say, smacking my sneakers against the ground to get his attention. He eagerly slips through the only arch opening after me, hands out to feel for any walls. The way the light reflects off of it make it seem like a solid wall rather than the arch it actually is.

"This way Atticus." I call, sounding more and more aggravated by the minute. I'm just getting annoyed now. He thinks he's so great?

"Hold your horses, I'm coming," Atticus grunts as he continues walking to the direction of my voice.

"And just to your left you'll see me in the only room without tricks." I say, spying him cautiously step in front of the room from within the hall. His head snaps up, spying me standing against a wall. No tricks. No false image.

This is truly me.

"Awfully nice of ya to come out here, Maus," He sniffs, walking over.

"Yeah?" I smile, laying my hand against the wall. I wonder how he will react if I mess with him a little bit? His eyes coldly stares at me before stepping back.

"You have something up your sleeve, don't you, Maus?" He accusingly says, flickering his eyes from the potential switch to the ground by his feet.

"Yep." I say, popping the P as I stare at him with a slow forming smile, "so what are you going to do about it?"

"Well, we could stare at each other, but then I would be tempted to hurt you more," Atticus sighs, running his fingers through his green hair, "and I no longer wish to be stuck in this torture chamber."

"So what about it?" I callously say, waiting for his move, "you're trapped here until you make it to the final level."

"Then so are you." He coldly shoots back. My cheek twitches into a grin.

"I've got food and water. It's your move." I coldly state. Well, that's not an entire lie. I can leave when I want because of the maintenance passage ways that he'll never find.

"You're cunning, maus." Atticus huffs before walking forward slowly.

"Really? Thank you. But I thought I was _lower_ than you." I mock, enjoying his squirming as my finger taps against the wall.

"For an _American_." He icily spits back.

"Yeah?" I continue to thrum my fingers against the wall making Atticus very uneasy. Oh it's just too easy to tease him!

"No more games!" He hisses as he charges at me. My cheek twitches into a smile as I press my hand against the wall to help me balance.

But nothing happened.

My eyes angrily flash as I Spartan kick his nuts, feeling the slight crack and breakage within the delicate man part before he drops to the ground. Idiot there was no trap there in the first place. You're just too easy to trick.

"AUGH, YOU CRAZY B***! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS AIM FOR THE BALLS?!" Atticus cries in pain as he falls back, clutching his tender area. I kick him over onto his back, watching him struggle for a moment before grinding my foot into his balls through his hands.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" I callously growl putting more and more of weight onto the precious area.

"AUGH!" He screams struggling to grip my ankle and relieve his manhood of the weight. My eyes narrow before I jerk my foot down, uncomfortably listening to him scream.

"Jackie! Please! Stop, it hurts!" He cries with tears dabbing at the corners of his eyes. My eyes widen at the innocent pleading, shocked. He changed back?

"A-Atticus?" I say, startled before quickly stepping off.

"Stupid Maus-!" He shouts before leaping to his feet and tackling me. Dang it he tricked me! I flinch as his larger hands grips my neck, squeezing. His knee pushes my legs down, making it harder to kick. My nails dig into his arms as I grit my teeth, struggling to uproot him. His fingers squeeze tighter, banging my head against the floor as he tries to strange me with what little strength he has.

"Stop struggling! It'll hurt more if you do!" His hands loosen as a feral smirk grows on his lips, "but then again, I _want_ you to suffer more, so please go on ahead and. Continue. _Struggling_!" He pulls my neck forward and slam my head back against the floor. Red lights flash in my eyes before I grip his forearms and curl upwards, barely holding him off from throttling me against the ground. We both jump as a loud siren goes off. My face pales as I struggle harder, breaking his startled grasp.

"A-Atticus _move_-!" I scream, shoving him to the side as one of the mirror walls shoot forward and slam into my side. The mirror shatters, slicing through my as I tumble onto the ground. I lurch forward, spying his evil grin and the railing right above him.

"A-Atticus _move_ you idiot!" I shriek, touching his shoulders to shove him out of the way just as a powerful wall smacks into our sides, slamming us into a tiny hidden trap. My eyes widen as my arm shoots out, trying to punch the locking mechanism but it clicks into place in an instant.

Oh crap.

‡

Oh gosh who can imagine what's going to happen inside the tiny confined space? **_10 REVIEWS_******for the next chapter~


	6. Chapter 6

"You stupid maus, what is this?!" He angrily demands, trying to squeeze his arms free in the confining space. I breathe hard as he presses right up against me, forcing me to painfully exhale before I push him back, struggling to breathe.

"S-stop moving nitwit!" I hiss, stomping on his foot somehow in the close quarters but failed to get any real force behind it. His lips twist into a feral snarl, shoving my shoulders against the wall in the small quarters.

"You shut it, Maus-" Atticus spits, pinning me against the wall. We both stiffen as the door whirrs and clacks before closing the space in an inch. I groan as he is shoved right up against me, nearly squeezing the life out of me.

"D-don't struggle! You'll make it constrict us!" I growl, nudging him back as I nervously looks over the wall. I know how to cancel the system but if I do that then I'll be stuck in here with him for a solid two time changes.

"Fine, just get us out of here!" He roughly sneers, nudging me back as if a warning that if I don't something terrible is going to happen.

"Then hold still." I inch down until my head is pressing against his lower stomach before reaching my arms around him, crushing both of our legs in the process. If this machine is aggravated again both my knee caps are snapping off. The only way out is to wait it out. If I try to force the system it will crush us even more. I need to give the engine time to cool before reconnecting some wires.

"Heh ... maus, you are interested in my body?" Atticus snottily says, placing both his hands on the top of my head. My eyes narrow as I lean forward, touching the wall behind him.

"Ew no." I growl, feeling the back wall for the switch. My fingers trail along the smooth edges before encountering a slightly bumpy surface. Got it.

"Shame, cause I'm certainly interested in you," Atticus chuckles, a deep rumbling vibrating his chest before he adds, "your _corpse_, that is."

"Why do you want me dead so bad?" I ask, twisting the indented knob and sliding the panel down so I can rearrange the wires working the system. I turned the mirror house on so I could mess with him but I made sure to disengage the motors that periodically changed the mirror placements. I wonder who turned them on?

"Your eyes reminds me of someone from my past. The person who made me into what I am today." I pause, startled at the news.

"That other person was blind in their eye too?" I ask, blindly disconnecting the wires so the door won't kill us by suffocation at least.

"At first." He mutters with a dark chuckle. A shiver crawls down my spine as I try not to think too hard about what he meant.

"Hm." I grunt, pushing harder against him as I dial in the confirmation code. Two lefts, three rights, push in and then a full turn to the right.

"Hey, quit it!" Atticus growls, clearly uncomfortable with me pressing against him.

"Don't be such a baby and deal with it. I'll be done in a minute." I huff, hesitating before dipping lower. Freaking dialing code. It moves lower and lower as you punch in the codes so someone can't accidentally push it in.

"Whoa whoa whoa hey! I don't want no maus sucking me!" Atticus shouts, trying to wriggle back as his hands shove down on my head.

"Sucking - oh _gross_! Don't be such a dork!" I hiss, punching in the final code. With a whirling crank the door presses in another inch shoving my head forward. Atticus groans in the back of his throat as I struggle to stand up, pressing against him at every possible angle. Gosh I hate this part of the attraction. I'm going to seal these all up when I get the chance. This is the second time I've been stuck in one.

"Stop-! Dangit, Maus!" He growls with a faint groan in the back of his throat.

"What are you a guy going through puberty? Don't be such a baby-_OH MY GOSH_ are you having what I think you're having?!" I shout, disgusted as I feel something completely natural for a guy his age. Ew, ew ew! That's just nasty!

"UGH! Turned on by a Maus! DISGUSTING!" He hisses, trying to shift the other way so I'm not banging into him. I gag as Atticus brightly blushes, trying not to look at me as he stares at the ceiling.

"Ew, gross, Atticus!" And in this tiny space there's no way to move out of the way for him.

"It's not my fault!" He barks back, pressing his back to the wall as I do the same, trying to give each other some space.

"Couldn't you just control it?!" I growl, trying not to touch him despite our bodies tightly packed together. Ugh ... there's no way I _can't_ feel that ew. Ok, ok just pretend it's a flashlight or something.

"Shut up! How could I control it?!" He angrily snaps, shoving my shoulders back. He jerks back and moans in pain, clearly hurt after falling on me with his ... problem.

"Oh gosh ... I feel like a pedophile turning on a kid like you." I groan, overtaken by embarrassment. I've never been with a guy and here I am grinding up against a freaking 16 year old. Totally sucks. And he's not even hot which makes it worse. Atticus huffs, looking away from me as he tries to regain control.

"Oh whatever! It's not like you mean anything to me!" I roll my eyes at his childish behavior, bunking down for the next two time changes. This is going to be awful. Well, at least now he'll keep his distance so he doesn't have an embarrassing round two going on.

"Hey, how long do these episodes last?" I curiously ask, staring at Atticus's other half of his split personality. Having the other Atticus here would at least make this tolerable.

"I ... how am I supposed to know?! This is ... my first time, you us!" Atticus sourly grumbles.

"About-UGH! No, not _this_. Just ... you. Where is the _other_ Atticus?" I clarify. Oh he's such a freaking baby. I could make it _so_ much worse for him if I wanted to but I would also be suffering.

"I am not bringing him out! No way! No chance! He wouldn't even know what was going on down there. And then _you_ would feel like a real pedophile." He growls, jerking his pelvis forward as if to emphasize his point. Oh gross-wait what?

"You have a _choice_ to bring him out?" I ask, shocked before hope wells up. If he comes out then I won't have to deal with this idiot here! I immediately begin squirming as if to encourage him before shouting, "H-hey, then let him out! I'd rather have him here than you!".

"Of course I do! He-hey, stop moving before I make you regret it!" Atticus yells, blushing at the friction. I continue to struggle, ignoring whatever happens from the waist down.

"If you don't let him out I'm going to make it _so_ much worse." I growl, determined to fully utilize this new advantage over him. I'm going to have to take about fifty showers until I feel clean again but by hell I'm going to make him feel agony. Atticus glares at me, measuring up my threat before frowning, moving his arms around my shoulders.

"Remember this. You asked for it." I stare at his face waiting for his decision. Am I going to have to torture him or what? Atticus's eyes flash before he hugs me, tightly squeezing me right up against him.

"Take that!" He growls, slightly moving his hips back and forth. I stiffen, still waiting for the punch line in this.

"Uh...," I say, still not quite understanding.

"Oh dear gosh no! I can feel it even more stop!" I shout, thoroughly disgusted at the turn of events, "what are you a child? Knock it off!" I shouted, trying to shove him off. Oh man come on this _sucks_!

"J-Jackie ... ? What's going on? Why can't I move?" Atticus curiously asks before shivering, "Ow ... why does it hurt down there?" That devil ... he did that to make it worse on me and Atticus when he came out.

"It's because I accidentally kicked you there. Sorry," I apologize, for once in my life thinking quick. I really don't want to go over the birds and the bees while I'm this close to him and that ... thing.

"O-ok ... ," Atticus blushes, trying to pull his arms back but the cramped space hardly allowed him to move an inch. Atticus trembled slightly as he sets his head on my shoulder, trying to get comfortable, "I don't like cramped spaces."

"Y-yeah. It's alright. We will be out in about two time changes." I explain, suddenly embarrassed. I just turned this kid on an I'm not even going to explain it to him? Uh ... later. Not now, definitely not now.

"Oh ... really? Okay, Jackie," Atticus gulps, clearly nervous as he tries to redirect his hips. My eyes slide closed as I crane my head back, gently setting my hands around his waist. Geh I'm tired ... freaking Atticus getting me stuck in this position. Next time he comes out I think I'm going to snap it in half. "I ... um ..."

"Yeah?" I half heartedly encourage as I slightly jolt, feeling it words until he moves back to the position he was in before he came to the same conclusion. This sucks ... well 'it' can't stay like that forever right?

"I'm sorry ... and thank you." He mutters, softly exhaling over my skin. I lightly shiver but hold strong, trying to not let him see.

"About...?" I grumbled, keeping my eyes closed as I wait it out.

"Thank you for looking after me, and sorry for all the trouble ... ," he continues, sounding flustered as he thumps his head into my shoulders again. Awe now how could I stay mad at that?

"Yeah." I breathe out a smile and gently rub his back. Oh gosh he's just adorable. "It's fine."

"No, it's not, I caused you a lot of trouble... It's not right, after you took good care of me." His head sweeps side to side before he buries his face in my shoulder, clearly too embarrassed to look at my face.

"I've been through much worse, Atticus." I sweetly smile, shuddering as a flicker of my mother's red hair flashes into my head before she quickly gets rid of it. She truly was a terrifying woman, and a horrible mother. At least I can handle Atticus. But, I really wonder that if I were in the same situation with as I am now, how much differently would that all have played out? Atticus's grip around me tightens before he jolts.

"Ah ... ! Jac ... ," he starts before falling silent. Hm? What's the matter? I gasp as he trembles, dabbing his tongue at the blood that is on my shoulder.

"Gah! A-Atticus, what are you doing?" I demand, trying to keep calm as I feel his warm tongue slide over my skin. Ow ... that's one of the cuts I got from shoving him out of the way of a mirror.

"Tch ... your blood tastes like an American's ... ," Atticus huffs as he pulls back, licking his lips.

"W-wha- oh gosh why are you _back_?!" I demanded with a growl, trying to gently push his shoulders away.

"Get used to it, Maus," Atticus hisses as his tongue gathers more of the blood, near deftly gulping before eagerly returning for more.

"G-Gross! Stop licking me!" I growl, shoving against his chest. His hands grasp my shoulders and slam me against the wall, jostling me as a warning to keep quiet. His lips brush over my exposed skin, hunting for a new area that might still be bleeding.

"Silence your squeaking, Maus." He growls. I huff, feeling his lips encounter a particular sensitive line on my skin. A shiver crawls down my spine as he curls his lips over the area and lightly sucks up the blood. Ew!

"Ah ... !" I gasp, feeling the bruising pain before his tongue slides over the open wound. Ow ...

"I'll bite if you don't shut up." He threatens against my skin before placing his lips back on.

"W-Why are you even licking my blood up in the first place-_ouch_!" I shout, jumping as he sinks his teeth into my shoulder before softly lapping up that blood. Freaking ouch that hurt!

"I love it." He nearly whispers, sounding like he's lost in his own little fantasy.

"L-Love it?" I ask. He likes the taste of blood? Um, ew. Atticus creepily grins, lapping up the blood before pulling back and looking evenly into my eyes. A frightened chill sweeps through my system as he licks his red tinted lips.

"The rusty, iron taste ... it's only a flavor some people could only appreciate. It's so good ... ," he mutters in a daze, hunting for another area that may still be bleeding. I shiver at his creepy obsession with blood. So gross ...

"Wouldn't you prefer someone else's blood instead of a Maus's blood?" I mock, cringing as his tongue glides along my collarbone on the hunt for some more. What in the heck does maus even mean? He's been saying it for a while now.

"Although I'd rather not taste a maus' blood, yours will do fine." Atticus smiles against my skin, pressing a little closer to me. Oh. I wonder when he got 'that' fixed?

"I don't understand why you like it." I growl, squirming as he suck on a particularly painful throbbing cut. Ow. A faint groan builds up in his throat as he dabs his tongue alone the wound, clearly enjoying the fact he found the 'mother load' of all my cuts.

"It's sweet to me ... a much different taste from all the foul blood I have drank during the war, maus." He explains. So creepy ...

"What are you a vampire?" I terribly joke, cringing as his teeth graze past the deeper cut. Thank goodness none of the glass stuck in my skin but it still hurts when he touches them. Atticus lets out a snicker at the attempt of the joke and shakes his head against my chest.

"A vampire? No. I'm human ... but I was taught with a passion for bloodlust." He explains, clearly enjoying the still bleeding mark.

"B-By who? That teacher with the blind eye?" I ask, honestly curious but also trying to distract myself. I really don't want to think about what he's doing so I'm going to pretend it's something else.

"You're a smart maus." He compliments, searching my top half for any more bleeding cuts.

"Y-Yeah?" I breathe, trying to shrink away as he dips down. His fingers pull my shirt to the edge of my ribs and kisses my belly with a small lick. I flinch as he hunts, kissing random spots and dragging his tongue over others.

"Mm hm ... ," he purrs, going back to my shoulder as the search proved to be unfruitful.

"Why do you say that?" I shakily ask, flinching as he lays his head on my shoulder. Oh please tell me he's done. He deeply inhales right next to a cut, sliding his eyes open as he stares at my neck.

"Quiet, or I'll be tempted to devour you on the spot." He warns, resting before leaning back slightly and continuing his little search.

"D-Devour me?" What, this 16 year old kid? "Define your kind of devour." Atticus gives the wound one last lick, seeing that it didn't want to bleed anymore before staring up at me.

"By devouring, I mean drain every last drop of the sweet, sweet blood that runs through your veins." Oh he sounds like a creepy vampire alright.

"And how are you planning to do that with no knife?" I scoff, morbidly curious as to how he would go about that.

"With my teeth. It wouldn't be the first time, my dear little maus." He gives a teasing nip at my skin, purring in delight. My eyes narrow as I grip his shoulders. He really thinks I'm going to stand aside and let him mock me like that?

"You're not the only one with power in here, dork." I huff. Does he have any idea just how _painful_ it would be for him if I rubbed up against him long enough? I blink, startled. No, he doesn't because he's never experienced one before. Atticus stares at me before laughing loudly, pulling me closer. His head nuzzles in my chest, enjoying the warmth.

Well I might as well go and show him.

"Go ahead and try, Maus! I'll simply enjoy the touch of a Frau rubbing against me." He heartily chuckles, almost eager as he jerks his pelvis against me.

"You sure about that?" I evilly grins, pressing up against him so his back is firmly pressing against the wall. I'm going to show him just how painful something like _that_ can be. I've never experienced one obviously but my brother has, and he's explained it to me before.

"Go ahead and try, I'll just bite you. Now imagine the situation _you'll_ be in." He growls with a grin as my hips begin to move.

"Oh I can just _imagine_ the pain you'll be in a minute." I huff, continuing until the same reaction came up. I hesitate before pushing through it. No, I'm not going to be put down constantly. I'm going to show him why it sucks to be a guy. He flinches but otherwise keeps the grin, faltering every few moments as he gulps.

"Ur ... ah ... ," Atticus flinches, gripping my shoulders as his head cranes back. His lips tremble as his eyes roll into the back of his head, clearly feeling the effects of it. "Stupid maus!"

"Is it getting painful yet?" I taunt, leaning on him so he can feel the pressure. He bites down on his lip, unable to keep himself from turning red with embarrassment as my cheek twitches into a smile. Wait for it ...

"Does it hurt yet?" I ask again, more so curious than malicious as he smacks his head back against the wall.

"O-O-Ow ow ow ow ficken _OW_! What is that?!" He shouts, a small hint of fear mixed within the anger touching his voice. Heh ... I'm glad my brother wasn't lying to me when he explained it to me.

"Not all pleasurable is it?" I tease with a malicious grin, putting more pressure on him. Oh~ this has got to hurt.

"No! Not pleasurable at _all_-!" He growls, biting into my neck.

"OUCH! What was that for?!" I snarl, shoving him against the wall and try to knee him where it would _really_ hurt at this point.

"That's it! Enough! I can't do this anymore-!" He shouted, wildly panting as he painfully cranes his head back.

_BAM_

"Ah-!" I squeak as the wall gives out, splattering both of us onto the ground. I jolt as I land hard on top of Atticus, nearly making him shriek.

"MIEN GOTT GET OFF!" He screams, throwing me off to the side as he cradled his precious area. I watch with humor as he rocks back and forth, grumbling about the pain.

"You get it now?" I heartlessly say with a smile. This is funny watching him roll all over the place like this.

"Ge-get what, Jackie?" Atticus asks as he glances back at her with a blushing face, "I'm sorr ... sorry?"

"Oh, hey Atticus," I smile before my lips fall into a frown. Wow ... that prick went back at the exact right moment. Atticus pales, crawling back as he stares at me with a puzzled and somewhat frantic look.

"Gah! Jackie's mad! S-sorry!" He shouts, thinking somehow I'm mad at him. Well, I am but it's just the other one I'm mad at.

"H-Huh? No, no I'm not mad." I reassure, keeping a careful eye on his face. Is he alright? after that, uh, incident in the trap I wouldn't think so.

"Oh, that's good ... ," he sighs in relief, a hand on his chest before he glances over the cut on my side. "Jackie, we should get that checked out!"

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah. Let's go." I say, standing up. Atticus's eyes widen as his mouth parts in horror. I follow his gaze spying my clothes spotted and torn with blood seeped into the shirt. Whoops. His breathing hitches before he shakes his head harshly, immediately climbing onto his feet and holding out a hand out to me.

"J-Jackie, are you alright?" He asks, severely worried as he looks over me with wide frightened eyes.

"Hm? Yeah. This is nothing, trust me." I smile, taking his hand, "now let's go get me checked out by the doctor." Atticus nods, quickly leading me out of the house of mirrors with my specific instructions. I think it's cute that he's leading instead of me because I'm hurt.

‡

"That's an awful lot of bandaging ... ," Atticus mutters, gently brushing his finger down the length of my arm. I smile and reassuringly pat his shoulder.

"Yeah. It's fine, though. I honestly think the lady lied when they said they were out of band aids though." I huff, annoyed that the doctors went to such lengths with the bandaging. A few boxes of band aids would have been just fine.

"But at least you're okay now, that's all that matters to me," Atticus brightly beams as we trot through the Amusement Park. I'm glad Atticus seems more comfortable here. It's Night and he's not nearly as jumpy as he was before.

"Ha. Yeah." I agree, suddenly very sleepy. Wow ... that little cat and mouse game took a little more out of me than I thought. My eyelids slightly droop. I'm tired. Atticus lightly places a hand on my waist, gently guiding me towards my apartment.

"Let's go back for now."

"You sure?" I ask, unwilling to show him around much more. I'm so tired ... ugh.

"You're tired, Jackie," he points out, plain as day as we reach my apartment. His hand slides into my pocket, swiftly pulling out the key and unlocking the door before pulling me inside. "Sleep is very important. And you helped me enough for today."

"Right. Go ahead and get some sleep, too." I encourage, heading towards the couch.

"Um, sure," Atticus watches me as I slumped onto the sofa, my eyes growing very heavy. So sleepy ...

* * *

**_10 REVIEWS_** for the next~ oh, and there's an awesome new story out called Broken Altercations by (I love creepy things). It's amazing and easily captures Joker's conniving nature. Check it out!


	7. Chapter 7

I heavily yawn before sleepily working on the Merry Go Round, rewiring some of the circuits. At this rate I really am going to skin Boris alive one of these days. Honestly if he keeps screwing with the circuit board I'm going to throw his feline butt off a cliff. I heavily sigh and lean back, staring numbly over the wires. Meh, they'll do.

"Jackie." I glance up spying a blue dressed dirty blonde frantically running towards me in the distance. What does she want? I heavily sigh and slide out from under the ride, waiting until she got to me. I'll bet Blood said something mean again. Alice run up to me and clings to my arms, with more so fury than pain behind her bright blue eyes.

"It's horrible! He's so selfish!" She immediately begins to vent.

"Yeah? What did he do his time." I more so state than ask. My eyes glaze over with boredom preparing to endure hours of nonstop talking and the occasional head nod and 'yeah'. She bit her lower lip, trying to stop herself from crying more.

"H-he called me a s*** a-and a w*** and useless! How c-cruel can he be? I ended it right there. I don't care if he asks for me to come back through Elliot, I'm done with him." She pouts, glancing off to the side. Yep I could have called that. I personally think Blood's hilarious but then again I've never been one the constant receiving end of his abuse so I can understand when that gets tiring.

"Right, right I agree." I numbly say. I never understood what she saw in him in the first place and she'll be scurrying back to him soon enough. But, as her venting friend, I should let her stay for a couple days. At least until Blood himself comes, they make out on my couch with me in the room again, and she returns with him. Again. I sigh, glancing over to her.

"Well, my place is open if you want to stay-actually." I pause, remembering Atticus. It's not safe if he switches over with her in the room. "I think it's better if you stay with Julius."

"No, I-I want to stay with you. I know I'll be a burden." She says, gripping her dress as she looks off to the side. I remain silent on that note. My brother helped me. My father helped me. But now who is left to face my troubles with me?

No one.

"Fine." I gulp down my sudden swing of depression, shrugging my shoulders. I'll make it work somehow.

"I knew you'd say yes, Jackie!" Alice beams, just as Atticus walks by holding a basket.

"Jackie, I made you some lunch." I glance up, darting my gaze between Alice as Atticus. Hm ... well this should be interesting. Atticus's eyes slide over to Alice, hesitantly taking in her blue dress and dirty blonde hair. Alice's eyes flicker over the boy, startled to see his eyes.

"Who is this ... ?" Alice asks, taking a hesitant step towards Atticus. He nervously holds the basket up, as if to shield himself from her.

"Um...!"

"Atticus, this is Alice and Alice this is Atticus." I introduce, letting the events fall into place. They were bound to meet eventually so better now than later. Alice stares at him almost in shock.

"Is he a foreigner too?" She asks hesitantly with a hint of excitement coloring her voice.

"Yeah." I say, studying her strange reaction. I thought she would be more shocked than that.

"That's amazing!" Alice cries with a smile, probably enthusiastic about meeting someone else from our world. Atticus dumbly studies the girl before glancing at me, confusion written all over his face.

"This is Alice, the foreigner before me." I explain, gesturing over the excited girl.

"Oh, um, very nice to meet you Alice," Atticus nods. Alice's smile remains as she nudges my side.

"And you didn't tell me there was another Foreigner here? Jackie, you're so mean," Alice lightly teases. The more she hangs out with Blood the more she likes to tease. But, whatever. I'm not too bothered by it.

"I didn't get time." I grunt, fastening the bolt to the ride.

"Jackie, take a break, Gowland told me you were working overtime. Let's have some lunch together," Atticus offers, holding up the basket. I hardly glance up at him before blindly tightening the bolt.

"Not yet. I want to finish this ride before I take a break. I'll be done in a few minutes." I grunt as my wrench slipped, banging into my wrist. "Ow...," I hiss under my breath, shaking out the injured hand.

"Do you need any help, Jackie?" Atticus asks as he sets the basket down on the ground.

"Hm ... no, I got it. It would be too cramped if you helped. Thanks though." I say, tightening one of the last four bolts. If any more hands are on this project then it will only be more annoying navigating the tiny space. Atticus nods, completely understanding and picked up the basket.

"Alright then. Just don't hurt yourself, okay?" He cautions with a sheepish smile. My eyes remain locked onto the last few bolts, completely consumed by my job.

"Right, right." grumble, deeply engrossed in my work.

"Atticus, Jackie will probably work through lunch. Let's go eat together." Alice gently entices. I glance over and spy her puppy dog eyes on Atticus as she tugs on his sleeve. She knows I hate being disturbed so she's only thinking of me I'm sure. Bleh ... I know she's just being considerate and leaving me to my work but that will lead him on.

"I'd rather wait for Jackie. If she doesn't eat, then I won't eat." He bravely says. Oh ho~ really? Well that's good at least. I don't want her to be alone with him because he might turn and hurt her without meaning to. Alice hesitates, startled by his stubbornness.

"Are you two, um, like this?" She asks, crossing her fingers from the corner of my eye. Ha. Yeah right. I like him but he's a little too scrawny for me. Harsh to say but it's true.

"No? We're not like that. We're friends." He says, innocently staring at her fingers. He probably doesn't know what they means. That's good I guess. Alice raises an eyebrow but otherwise lets it go, glancing back at me. She definitely suspects something. But hey, I would too if I were her.

"There. All done. Now all I have to do is set it on the tracks." I grin before frowning, looking at the rollercoaster about fifty yards away. This is the hard part. I can probably just leave this by the tracks and go to lunch with those two. At least that way we can eat sooner. I'm starved!

"I'll help, if you want Jackie!" Atticus eagerly offers, earning a pout from Alice. I'll bet she's really hungry too.

"Yeah, sure. Just start pushing from behind," I said, gripping the side before Atticus rams into the back, throwing the side out of my reach.

"Ack! Atticus, too hard!" I shout with laughter, lurching forward to snatch the edge of the cart. Looks like _someone_ is an eager beaver to help me. It's ... cute how he helps me around so much. I appreciate it.

"S-Sorry, Jackie! Strange ... I can't push that strong ... ," Atticus trails off, pushing the cart a little more gently, "again, sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine. Really." I snicker. Oh~ that was fun. His eyes numbly stare at his arms, watching the small muscle bulge as he pushes the cart. A light bulb lights up his eyes with an idea as he looked at me with a grin.

"Hey, Jackie. Want to ride in the cart while I push?" He says, stopping as he excitedly looked at me. Oh now that looks too cute.

"Hm?" I hum, thinking about it before chuckling. Oh now that face looks too cute. How could I refuse. My hands grip the side as I hop inside the ride and lounge across the back and kick my feet up onto the front pointing towards the rollercoaster.

"Onward, _slave_!" I playfully shout with a snobbish tone, unable to stop laughing at myself. Oh gosh that was stupid. Atticus chuckles at my enthusiasm and forges ahead, moving faster than when we were both pushing it. I'm impressed. This is a heavy ride and he's pushing it fairly easily. He's getting stronger. I toss my arms into the air as if I was on a roller coaster ride and let out a bit whoop.

"Whooooo!" I exuberantly cry as the wind tears at my hair. I love roller coasters. They really are the best for a quick adrenaline rush and all.

"Alright Atticus you can slow down now." I say as we approached the tracks. He makes a slight turn, speeding up as he heads towards a downward sloping hill. My face pales as I spin around in my seat, spying the malicious intent on his face. Oh gosh-!

"Let's have fun, _frau_," Atticus maliciously grins as he runs even faster towards the hill. OH CRAP! T-There's no breaks on this thing!

"Hey! S-Slow down!" The brunette cries as she pants hard, running after them from afar. His eyes widen before his feet dig into the ground, slowing the momentum of the cart as he looks back.

"Eh? What?" Atticus cocks his the side to look back at Alice. I shakily exhale a laugh as I stare at the foreboding hillside. Oh gosh that was scary ... there's no doubt I would have hit something going down this fairly steep hill in the park.

"Oh thank goodness - _you nitwit you let go_-!" I shout as the cart tips over the edge, shooting me down the hill.

"WAH! SORRY, JACKIE!" Atticus zooms after the cart, grabbing the side railing. His feet plows into the cobble stone path and pulls with all his might, slowing the momentum of the getaway cart. I lean back in the cart and brace for impact against the side of a building. Oh man that would hurt. My fingers tightly grasp his fist, making sure that if he let go I was dragging him along with me. The cart squeaks to a screeching halt a few dozen feet from the steep hill, laying us to rest at the bottom. Both Atticus and I gasp for air, startled at the startling event. I just almost _died_!

"Gah ... gah ... why did you freaking let go?!" I shout, more so surprised that he didn't have the brains to hold on than upset that he let me drop down the hill. I probably would have bailed last minute instead of crashing into a building but that means I would have to repaint and probably knock out dents from the metal haul. Atticus immediately pales before looking around, frighteningly darting his eyes over the cobblestone street.

"My head started hurting ... so I let go. I didn't remember us being at the top of a hill." He says, completely thrown for a loop as he runs a hand through his green hair. Ah~ that's because he turned. I stare at him, incredulous, before sighing out a smile. Well, that's one way to get the adrenaline into your system.

"Well, at least I had fun." I shrug it hop out of the cart, poking his sternum with a playful grin, "as punishment you have to help me truck it back up the hill alright?"

"That's fair," Atticus eagerly agrees, taking a head start in pushing the cart up the hill without her. "I'll do it for you."

"Well, since you're offering." I shrug but gently place my hand on the side, ready to give help. I'm impressed he can push this thing up the hill. Hm ... but, that also means that if he's getting stronger so is his split personality side. I'm going to have to use new and rougher techniques to dominate him. This is just going to get harder from here on out making sure he doesn't get himself and others killed. Alice anxiously waited at the hill top as we made the climb up, waiting until we were close enough before really letting her worry out.

"Atticus, Jackie, are you alright?!" She worriedly says, looking over us both. If you were so worried why didn't you help us pull it up? I open my mouth to retort but let out a deep exhale, resting my hands on my knees. _Man_ that's a steep hill...

"I brought the basket with me," Alice adds with a cheerful note, holding the basket up with a shaky arm, "it's heavy-!" Atticus pulls the cart away from the slope before taking the basket and putting it in the cart.

"I made a lot by accident." He sheepishly says with a small smile, suddenly self conscious.

"Better too much than not enough." I quote my brother with a smile, excited to see what he brought. If it's really that heavy then I wonder what's in it?

"I agree entirely, Jackie!" He enthusiastically cries, pushing the cart towards the rails. I chuckle and follow behind with Alice. Her fingers gently tug on my shirt, catching my attention.

"Are you like this?" She asks, crossing her fingers. I stare at the fingers, unable to collect my thoughts together. Why would Alice think something like that? It's not like we're hooking up or anything and I _know_ she's not interested in him like that at all.

"No, why do you ask?" I say, curious to hear her out.

"It's the way you two act. Did you know him before he came here?" She presses, trying to get to the bottom of why we are so close. My eyes tighten as I look over the girl. If you were around me more when I first got here then I probably would be connected your hip too.

"Not at all. He was in WW2." I say, expecting her to know exactly what I'm talking about.

"WW2?" She asks, clearly startled.

"Maybe it was after your time." I relent. Just by looking at Alice's clothes and how lady like and proper she tries to act I can tell she didn't grow up in my time, around 2012.

"Who started it?" She asks, curious now to know a little about him.

"Germany." I say, staring at Atticus's back. But he doesn't really act like a Nazi. He's obviously proud of his country but I can't see him hating someone for their ethnics. Heck, if that were the case he wouldn't even associate with me. Alice glances at the humming Atticus, blushing a bit, "I see ... he's really adorable. Judging from his clothes, he's a teen soldier?"

"Yeah," I say, dropping my cheerful tone a tad more, "he was put on the front lines. He's got some ... issues." Like suddenly changing into another person that's trying to kill me all the time. Alice laces her fingers together, obviously worried as she looks over him with a calculative eye. Oh boy ... don't even try, Alice. He's broken and you can't fix someone that's not ready to be fixed yet.

"I-I want to help him as a friend." She says with a hopeful smile, picking up her pace. My eyes widen, watching in horror as Alice runs up to Atticus and hugs his arm. What ... what the heck? Oh this isn't going to turn out good nope not at all.

"I can't believe you were able to stop that cart! That was amazing~," she sings, giving his arm a light squeeze as he praises him. Ah~ building him up with confidence. That's what I'm doing in a way but you can't drown someone with attention. It makes them feel suffocated.

"Anybody could do that if they were a bit strong, I'm sure," Atticus modestly brushes off, lightly pulling his arm away to relocate the cart near the tracks. "Jacks, I'm done."

"Good," I nod, startled by the nickname but accepts it anyway, "Now let's go to the hill and dig in~," I greedily sing. I'm starving and that food smells awesome. I'll hook the cart to the tracks later. He snickers at my enthusiasm and picks the basket up from the cart before following after me. I weave through the park with ease heading towards one of my favorite hill sides. I don't often get time to go there but it's nice to be at every now and then. They trail after me up onto the grassy hill. My legs nearly fold as I sit down, excitedly looking at the basket. I just hope he doesn't cook like Gray does.

"It's mostly German and Austrian food, I hope you don't mind," Atticus says as he opens it up, pulling off the cloth that was keeping the food warm and fresh. The smells immediately assault my senses as my eye lids flutter, imagining the taste of the delicious smelling food. So good~!

"Yeah? I've never had good like that." I curiously said looking at the delicious looking food. Mostly meats, cheeses and breads from what I can see. Oh this is going to taste _great_!

"Did you really make this all by yourself, Atticus?" Alice asks and he nods, picking up two breads and handing it to her and me.

"Yeah, I cooked a lot when I wasn't on the battlefield." He says as his eyes grow a little distant. I cast a wary glance in his direction, ready to tackle him down the hill if he lost it with Alice here. He would feel terrible afterwards if he hurt her and I'm not about to let him hurt her. Atticus notices my stares and looks away.

"Oh, um... I also made some soft pretzels, wursts, fresh bread, stuff like that." He presents, taking out the items one by one.

"Wursts? What is that?" Alice cutely asks, staring at a strange bundle within the basket. I nibble on the side of the bread, staring at the contents. I don't care what it is it looks delicious and it's making me drool just thinking about it.

"It's sausages, as what people call them in English," he answers, handing Alice and me a spoon, "please, eat as much as you want."

"Thanks, Atticus." I mutter, taking a bite. My mouth is immediately invaded by the sweet tartness of the soup as my mind falls into a mini paradise, lost in the beautiful taste of the soup. S-S-So good~!

"Mm...!" Alice hums with the exact same reaction, closing her eyes, "This is so _good_!" Atticus remains silent, biting into a hot potato as he remains silent. I stare over his somber attitude, worried. The second he changes I'm decking him, no questions asked.

"Atticus?" I uneasily say, trying to see his eyes. I shift so my feet are touching the grounf, almost prepared to tackle him right down the hill, "you alright, buddy?"

"Oh! Ah ... I'm fine, I was just thinking how long ago it was to eat like this, peacefully." He embarrassingly mutters, staring at the blades of grass beneath us.

"Yeah?" I ask, easing back down as I try to relax. It's fine, it's fine. He's perfectly sane right now. Atticus smiles, finishing his potato before taking a piece of bread.

"Yeah, it's nice to eat with friends." He fondly says with a softened expression, obviously a little emotional at the moment. I remain silent and close my eyes, enjoying their company. He's right. It's nice to stop work once in a while and eat calmly with everyone. I never often got to do this since mother was gone or drunk or high and my brother was out partying. Alice stops in mid bite, looking up with curiosity dancing in her turquoise eyes.

"Atticus, can I ask you a question?"

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah." He says, looking her in the eyes with the proper respect.

"What did you do before you ... you know," Alice blushes, a little bit nervous to be asking such a personal question. My curiosity perks at the question. That's ... something I want to know too. I pay close attention, waiting for his answer.

"I studied piano at the Conservatorium, the Horak Conservatory," Atticus replies, biting into a wurst.

"You can play piano?" Alice asks, shocked before I could say something. Huh. That's pretty cool. So he can play an instrument like I can.

"Y-yes, I can-,"

"I play a little piano myself," Alice smiles, a soft look in her eyes. I'll bet she's glad to have a connection to him somehow, "do you like books? I love books."

"I don't like, er, books." Atticus frowns a little, looking away.

"Same." I huff with a smile. "Unless they have pictures or instructions in them I don't pay much attention to them."

"I feel the same way," Atticus smiles as Alice studies his strange reaction.

"But why? Books are wonderful!" She says, clearly misunderstanding the fact we just don't like books.

"I'm sure they are, Alice, but they don't capture my attention," Atticus smiles, finishing off his wurst, picking up another one. "As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss."

"Here here." I say, lifting up my water bottle before taking a swig. Alice's sanity visibly snaps behind her eyes as she sets her plate down.

"You two would make a cute couple. Are you sure you're not in a relationship?" I gasp before hacking as Atticus sucks down his wurst without chewing, also trying to clear his throat in a mad fit of coughing. He punches his chest trying to get it down.

"Hck...hck hck HCK!" I cough as Atticus wheezes, taking a sip of his own water. Where did that come from?!

"N-n-no! It's not like that, Alice!" Atticus cries, burning a bright red of embarrassment.

"Y-Yeah!" I growl, hacking up some water. Alice slightly pouts and clings to Atticus's arm, much to his displeasure, "well, sometimes you have to hear straight from the horse's mouth."

"Gosh dang it. Alice, it's not like that between us." I hoarsely cough, face turning red from the lack of air. Atticus gently pats me on the back, deeply concerned.

"Hang in there, Jacks." He comforts, gently rubbing my back.

"Y-Yeah." I croak, tapping my fist against my chest in an attempt to help clear it. Alice looks to the side, completely embarrassed. I glance up, spying her not so nice face.

"Are you tired, Alice?" I ask, giving Alice the chance to recover her face. Her cheeks tinge with pink, embarrassed by her own angst.

"Y-Yes, I am." She admits, turning her head away.

"Let's just cool down a bit," Atticus suggests as silence ensues. Alice grabs her own chin, deep in thought, glancing at the teen soldier once on a while. She's not actually interested in him, is she? No, no. Alice isn't a whore. She's probably thinking of ways to make the guy feel more comfortable, which can often come off as flirting even when she doesn't mean to. I sigh, setting a hand against my forehead. Oh Alice~ just leave this one to me. I know you like to get involved with things and fix people but some people can't be fixed right away.

"Oh, yes, that's right, after this I have to help Gowland with replacing the mirrors in the fun house," Atticus remembers, snapping his fingers before piling the dirty dishes in the basket, "it was very nice to have lunch with friends. I hope we can do it again sometimes."

"Hm? Yeah, definitely." I agree as I get up. "And you've met Gowland?" I ask, surprised. Since when did he and Gowland have one on one time together? It must have been when I was working.

"Yes, I have, he lets me use the piano in his room."

"Really?" I've never been in his room now that I think about it. Atticus nods, getting up and picking up the basket.

"We can go there during another break. I'd be happy to play you a song." He offers, nervously looking away with a smile.

"Sounds awesome." Heck, if he's decent we could do a company together; him with piano and me with my violin.

"I'd like to listen as well, if you don't mind Atticus," Alice says and he nods.

"Soon." He says before leaving. The second he's out of earshot I gently place a hand on Alice's shoulder.

"Alright Alice you need to stop. Your helping is coming off as heavy duty flirting again." I clarify, turning to Alice with a stern look on my face. I'm normally straightforward anyway and I can understand when someone needs to be told outright what's happening. I doubt she even noticed it herself. Alice jolts, startled.

"Oh my, am I really?" She asks, blindsided by the accusation.

"Yeah. I know you had it out with Blood-,"

"Don't ever say his name!" She growls before stiffly looking away. I know she likes to 'fix' people because it makes her feel better but it takes years, not just a few hours! Alice abruptly stands up, resentment clear in her eyes as she looks me over.

"And why would you care about what I do. I know you two are friends, but it's not like you two are going out." Wow you're going to pull that one out on me? I openly roll my eyes at her, making her eyes narrow in distaste.

"Alice, enough. I know you want to help him but the best thing to do is give him _time_. I think I'm a little more qualified than you to help someone who has been traumatized." I huff, resisting the urge to tackle her down the hill.

"Hmph. It doesn't matter who's qualified, it matters about who will be there for him." Alice finalizes, turning away and walking down the hill. I strain my arms towards Alice before throwing them into the air in exasperation.

"UGH! She's so _stubborn_!" I fall back against the hill contemplating her choices. I could follow them but that makes me a stalker but if I don't and something happens they will get hurt. I sit up, staring after her blue dress. This isn't like me arguing over a guy like this.

Whatever. Who cares? Whatever happens happens.

...

...

...

Gosh dang it.

I hop up, sinking into my sneaking mode as I begin to stalk Alice. If anything happens I'll be ready to pounce and strangle him. Hiding around the corner I watch as Alice runs up to Atticus, who is moving a cart with tall cardboard boxes. Atticus stops pushing the cart, giving her his full attention while holding the cart in place. Geh, I can't hear what they are saying. Alice smiles again, telling him something before lightly touching his shoulder. Atticus shakes his head, smiling as well, patting her head as she pouts.

Oh~ she's been rejected. Now what?

Alice seemed to have tried to say something more but Atticus shook his head, saying something else before pushing the cart off. Alice huffs, running after him. I wonder what they are talking about? I daringly inch closer, listening to their conversation.

"Atticus, have you ever visited the other territories?" Alice's voice chirps innocently. I know she means well but this isn't going to turn out good. I can already tell.

"There are others?" Atticus asked, seeming surprised.

"Yeah. Here, I'll show you around." She sweetly smiles, honestly trying to be good. Oh Alice ... that could be taken the wrong way.

"Well, when I'm done with my job, I'll go with you. And we can bring Jackie along." Atticus cheerfully added. I hold back a laugh. Well, I'm glad he's not taking it the wrong way at least but _boy_ is he dense!

"She's really busy with the rides. She absolutely HATES being interrupted during her work hours." Alice says, probably remembering all the times I've kicked her out for bugging me.

"You're right about that. Though, I'd like for her to know where I'll be going." He says before slowing down, looking like he's about to turn around. I duck behind the alley, listening for his approach. If he comes this way it looks like I'm going to have to dumpster dive to avoid him.

"Why?" Alice asks with honest curiosity.

"I think it's only right." Atticus says. That is an interesting question though. Why would he want to tell me? I'm glad he thought of me at least instead of hightailing it out of here but why would that concern him?

"But why would telling her or not be right or wrong?" Alice pushes, more likely than not still doubting our claims about our relationship. Atticus pauses, puzzled as he thinks through why he said that.

"Well, she is looking after me." He says. Ah~ so I'm like a mother figure to him. I chuckle under my breath. Cute~

"She is? So you're staying here? Why not Heart Castle or another territory?" Alice asks, honestly curious about his answer. This is turning pointless. I doubt anything will happen to them.

"Um, like I said before, I haven't been to another territory yet, and I'd rather stay here, it's fun," Atticus kindly answers with a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. I roll my eyes at the scene and smile before slipping out of ear shot. They will be fine so I'm not too worried about it.

* * *

**_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~ and careful, it's a knock out! XD.


	8. Chapter 8

I heavily sigh, finishing the last innovations for the rollercoaster. I'm glad I found that can caught up in the wheels. I nearly had a hard attack spying the sparks being flung into the air as it shot by me. Stupid people - don't they read the 'no littering' signs?!

"Hey Jackie." Elliot's voice cheerfully cries although there is a dead note to his tone. I glance back at the man carefully studying his sleepless face. It's subtle but I can see bags under his eyes. Awe~ Blood must have been running him around like a dog. I smile and roll over, slipping out from under the ride. He reaches down, lending me a hand and pulls me to my feet.

"Better my troubles than yours. Here for Alice?" I ask, recognizing his long face and obviously exhausted face. Blood tends to work his frustrations on poor Elliot by making him run around. I feel bad that he has a boss like that.

"Ugh ... yeah." He sleepily yawns, nearly tipping over. I chuckle and lean against his side, helping to support him as I slip my arm through his.

"I'm not sure where exactly she is but I'll help you find her." I say before setting my tools down. He's going to want help, definitely. With all the noise going on he can't really use his ears to his advantage.

"Mrh thanks ... ," he mutters, wiping his eyes. I laugh and gently tug him along, lightly rubbing his arm.

"And after you get her back maybe I'll being you some carrot parfait that we recently got." I smile, guiding him through some of the rides as I search for Alice. Awe~ such a cute sleepy bunny.

"That sounds nice ... ," he sleepily says, wobbling along with me as I drag him. Oh he's honestly just too cute when he's sleepy.

"Yeah." I smile. I feel bad for Elliot and Alice. I somewhat understand Blood's relationship to Alice but not the whys. Such as, why does Alice deal with him if he's so troublesome? I just don't get it. Elliot's ear perks up as we pass the prize stalls. I ignore him until I spy the familiar green haired soldier boy playing at the ring toss with the brunette girl. Well there they are. And they look like they are enjoying themselves here. Alice beams in delight when the faceless man hands Atticus a teddy bear.

"Here, Alice. Like you wanted." Atticus kindly smiles, handing her the teddy bear.

"Thanks, Atti." She smiles, clearly happy to have something so cute in her possession. Oh~ they're onto nicknames now.

"Hey ... who's that hitting on Blood's woman?" Elliot growls, his eyes narrowing as he reaches for his gun. I hold his arm tighter, warning him not to fire.

"If you break anything I'm never letting you back into the park." I smile with a terrifying underlying threat. His eyes remain glued to Alice, catching her attention. Her smile falls into an annoyed pout as she looks away.

"I'm not going back." She mutters, catching Atticus's attention as he looks up and spies Elliot and I approaching. I carefully trot away from the short tempered bunny and touch Atticus's shoulder.

"Come on Atticus. This doesn't involve us." I say, gently tugging him away. It's best to show Elliot that Atticus is my friend and if he shoots him I'll be pissed.

"Oh, um, sure, Jacks," Atticus stumbles out, holding out a fox stuffed animal to me. I blink, startled by the gesture. Does he want me to carry it for him? "This is for you, by the way."

"Huh? O-Oh, thanks." I say, unsure how to respond. He won me a gift? That's ... surprising. I didn't expect him to do that for me. I gently take the plush animal from him as a soft smile spreads across my face. It's still warm from him holding it. "Thank you, Atticus."

"Is it like _that_...?" Elliot mutters to himself. I glance up, catching him just as he looks away. Ah~ he didn't misinterpret that did he?

"Excuse me?" Atticus says, looking over.

"He's tired. Let it go." I encourage, tugging him along. He stares over Elliot, puzzled before following alongside me. Atticus nods, about to turn away when Alice walks up to us. Ah man I can already see where this is going ...

"I'm coming too. I'm not staying with that jerk! Not you, Elliot. It's Blood." Alice clarifies as she stubbornly folds her arms.

"Alice, I think you should talk it out with him." I say trying to persuade her otherwise. I already feel bad for Elliot.

"No, I'm tired of being mistreated by that selfish, moody man!" Alice puffs her cheeks out, hugging the teddy bear. Ah~ she's obviously pretty tired too. I wonder how much sleep she's had? Normally she doesn't come right out and say it like that.

"Alice, please? I'm sure you and Blood can talk whatever happened out." Elliot pleads. My eyes roll at the bubble brained man. I don't think he understands that Blood's way of talking it out is in bed.

"I'm well aware of that, and I'm shocked you're still here." Alice huffs, giving him a glare. Oh~ she's very tired. I wouldn't be surprised if Blood himself had to come here to get her.

"Alice, I think you two just need to talk it out." I'm just saying this for Elliot's sake. He's obviously tired and overworked and Alice arguing with him isn't working out well.

"Let's go." Atticus mutters as he touches my shoulder. All this arguing is probably making him uncomfortable.

"Why are you being so friendly to Jackie?" Elliot questions, causing Alice to turn around and see them. Her eyes flash with conviction. Ah~

"It's because they are together." Oh Alice, your woman's intuition is _so_ off with this one.

"Really?!" Elliot cries, shocked. I blink in disbelief of Elliot's stupidity before rolling my eyes.

"Yup, we are totally humping when you two aren't looking. Now if you'll excuse us, we're about to go hump it out. Let's go Atticus." I say with the heaviest amount of sarcasm I can muster.

"Wha-! No, we're not like that! I'd _never_ do that to anyone!" Atticus cries, shocked at my words. I shoot him a nervous look as I squeeze his fingers. Elliot has a short temper as it is and he might see Atticus denying it as being spineless.

"Atticus, leave it at that and let's go." I urge, trying to tug him away from the confrontation.

"R-Right, okay ... ," Atticus flushes, keeping his gaze down on the ground and allows me to tug him away.

"I don't care about the relationship between you and Jackie, but what I _do_ mind is you openly two timing her," Elliot sneers from behins. Alice audibly gasps, making me look back to spy Elliot's gun directly aimed at Atticus's head.

"_Atticus, Jackie look out_-!" Alice screams.

BANG BANG

I jolt as I hit the ground, scrambling to stand up. Hot red liquid splashes onto my face, sending a frightened chill down my spine. Atticus-!

"This is certainly fun, isn't it, Maus?" I look up at Atticus, spying a faceless who had been working the ring toss game firmly held in front of Atticus's crazily grinning face. H-He used him as a human shield?! "Fun, yes?"

"Whoa, whoa whoa wait a minute Elliot stop!" I shout, watching the horror unfold as a familiar, sinister grin curls his lips up. H-He just used Joe as a shield-!

"You don't care about faceless?" Elliot asks, he too a little surprised by Atticus grabbing a by stander to use as a shield.

"Attic ... Atticus? H-How could you-?!" Alice chokes out, completely horrified. Oh man ... I was hoping to spare Alice from seeing that.

"You want to play, bunny? I'm down." Atticus cruelly grins, slipping his Bowie knife in his hand. My eyes widen in terror. He just called Elliot a _bunny_ of all things-!

"What-!?" Elliot angrily begins as I leap to my feet.

"IDIOT!" I shout, blindsiding the Nazi and onto the ground. He jolts, not at all expecting the attack as I land on him. The breath rushes out of his lungs as I land on him, locking my sights onto the hand with the knife. I flip over, capturing his arm in an arm bar and painfully twist his wrist.

"MEIN GOTT OW!" He shouts as the knife slips from his fingers, helplessly landing on my chest. I keep a firm grasp on his wrist and toss the knife aside before pulling his arm harder. Elliot's gun remains locked onto Atticus, never deviating an inch from his skull. Oh please don't shoot.

"E-Elliot, if you forgive Atticus and leave right now I will bring you a while array of carrot dishes to make up for it alright?!" I desperately say, watching the hate and confusion in his eyes mingle with desire.

" ... Are you sure about this?" Elliot says, staring at the struggling boy, "I can shoot him dead now if you'd like."

"N-No, I mean yes! I am sure. H-He's just confused," I grunt, twisting Atticus's arm back painfully, "keep moving and I'll dislocate your arm, if not break your wrist too."

"Ow, ow!" He shouts, madly trying to rip his arm free. His other hand digs into the ground, struggling to cope with the pain as he continues to struggle but less vigorously.

"What...what...?!" Alice tries to stifle a sob, squeezing the bear as a sort of comfort, "w-what ... just happened to Atticus?"

"H-He's got problems, just like I said. He has post traumatic stress disorder and a split personality." I growl, applying more pressure to his hand and making him kick fruitlessly at the air, "I-I'll explain the war to you later."

" ... If you ever need my help to end him do not hesitate to ask." Elliot says, worriedly looking over me.

"I'm fine, I'm fine really. Just ... please go. You're making it worse." I plead. I keep my grip firm, unable to hold him for much longer. Dang it! When did he get stronger?! I raise a leg and heavily drop it across the bottom rim of his lungs, aiming to empty his diaphragm of air.

"Get off of me! Gott!" He wheezes out, rasping for air as he claws at the ground.

"No, _you_ calm down first," I hiss, twisting his wrist a little more painfully, "Elliot, please leave."

"If you're sure." He says, curling an arm around the shaken Alice. Elliot casts wary glances back, his ears down as he observes our fighting.

"Jackie ... will he go back to normal?"Alice digs her feet into the ground and looks back, burying her face into the bear's fur as she tries not to cry. Yeah ... I bet this was a shock. He's a foreigner but he killed a faceless so easily and is showing no remorse whatsoever.

"G-Give him _time_. That's what he needs." I grunt, against slamming my leg into his gut.

"Gah! F*** you!" Atticus hisses, managing to kick my leg somehow.

"Calm your balls!" I spit back, hitting him with a direct smack of my leg. I glance up watching as Elliot takes Alice away. Well, at least they're safe. Now it's only my own butt I have to worry about.

"Stupid _maus_!" His fist came like a heavy club, hitting me right in the stomach. I painfully heave and roll back, clutching my stomach as I grab his knife. As long as he doesn't have it I have the advantage. My eyes warily watches him as he scrambles to his feet, glaring at his knife in my hand.

"How dare you-!" Atticus fiercely spits, darting his glaring eyes from his knife in my hand to my face.

"You would have been _killed_ if I didn't do anything. Elliot is _extremely_ trigger happy, especially if you go calling him a rabbit!" I growls, getting ready to make a run for it with the knife. Or I could throw it into the Tunnel of Love. Then he would _never_ find it.

"Oh please, Maus. I took care of myself well back there before you came in and ruin it." Atticus scoffs with a sneer.

"Are you kidding me? You have _no_ idea how ruthless he can be." Honestly sometimes I wish this side at least had some brains.

"Awe~ the wittle Maus cares for me? Mein gott, how _revolting_." He growls, cracking his knuckles, "I'll be leaving, Maus. But know that I'll grow stronger soon, and you won't be able to stop me."

"Where are you leaving to?" I ask, suddenly cautious. I make a slight shift, ready to deck him across the ground. If he tries to leave ... he's definitely getting shot by someone.

"To the mental cage in my head," Atticus seriously answers before his eyes turn empty. His entire body wavers before he slumps forward, falling heavily onto his knees.

"WHOA!" I shout, diving forward and catching the boy. His head slumps against my shoulder as his body slacks, leaning on me entirely for support. I gently hug him and pat his back in an attempt to revive him. I can't believe he let Atticus drop like that. What if Atticus hit his head?

"Atticus. Hey ... wake up." I plead, letting his body rest against me. Oh man this is bad ... I perk up as a light whimper slides out of his throat.

"Jackie ... Jackie! T-There's blood on your face!" He immediately leans back and catches my shoulders, searching my body for any wounds, "are you okay?! Did you get hurt?"

"O-Oh ... no, I didn't." I say, glancing over to the clock on the ground. Ah~ he was a good worker. Slacked sometimes, but other than that was decent. I reach forward and pick up the broken clock, sweeping off some dirt that is stuck to it. The design is beautiful yet simple with a smooth silver edge and a bronze line straight down the middle.

"What's that?" Atticus asks as I carefully cradle the clock.

"It's a 'heart' here," I explain, holding it out for him to see, "Julius is the man who fixes the clocks."

"So ... he will come back?" Atticus innocently asks, sweeping the same delicate hand that ended the man's life over the surface.

"No. Someone different will come back and take his place." I sadly sigh, sweeping my finger along the edges. It's a beautiful clock. I'm sad Joe is gone. He was really good to the kids. But, he'll come back someday as someone else too, right?

"That's ... that's terrible ... ," Atticus mumbles, staring at the clock with a new enlightened, frightened eye.

"It's the way this world works." I slip the clock into my pant pocket before standing up.

"I don't like it... ," Atticus says softly as he looks over to the right, seeing a fox doll ripped into pieces because of incoming bullets from before, "Ah..." I glance over before smiling, picking up the pieces.

"I know a cool stitching technique to make it look like the undead." I grin, kissing the nose of the stuffed fox that had miraculously survived.

"O...Okay. That's good." Atticus blushes, looking the other way.

"It's going to look so cute when I'm done. Just watch." I grin, sliding my fingers between Atticus's. His cheeks turn a deeper red, nodding frantically. Cute~ he's speechless. I'll bet he's busy imagining how cool it will look when I'm done.

"Let's go pick out some string for it." I happily smile, excited with the new project ahead of me. The best part is the worse at sewing you are the better it will turn out so it will be absolutely stunning when I'm finished with it.

"Su...sure," he smiles, happily trailing behind me.

‡

"Gah! I'm so excited~," I squeal unable to hold in my excitement. I gently look over the bag of some thick black string, a mini top hat with black lace and a flower on it, and some bandages. This is going to turn out amazing~

"Are you good at sewing?" Atticus asks, catching on and taking a ride on my excitement as I unlock the door to my apartment.

"Not at all. That's why I like the voodoo sewing. The mess ups are what make them unique." I grin, stepping inside my house. I head over to my desk and clear everything off to the side, setting down my project before me and the supplies. Atticus stays silent, closing the door and locking it for me. I always lock it at night. Growing up in New York I've been trained to keep the door locked at all times.

"I can't sew for my life either ... just patches." Atticus says, "I had to rip off scraps from fellow soldiers and sew them onto my own torn clothing. I don't remember actually sewing them on though."

"Perfect! Some patches would look nice." I say as I rip the stuffing out, laying out the pieces so it forms a somewhat shape of the fox, missing a large portion of what he said. Hm ... it's nice that we were able to collect most of the pieces. But then again that's what the patchwork is for.

"Where's the sewing case?" Atticus asks as he looks around.

"Don't have one. I've got this needle and string we just got though." I optimistically note, holding up the bought supplies. His face falls in a 'I can't believe this girl's thinking' before he shrugs with a smile.

"Alright. So what do we do now?" He asks as I loop string through the strangely shaped triangle sole to the fox's back leg

"We see and guess what goes where." I say, finishing up with a small knot with the two pieces. I look it over, spying the ear now attached to its leg before realizing my mistake and chuckling. "Whoops."

"That doesn't look good. Here, I can undo the stitches." Atticus offers with a sheepish laugh, standing beside me with his hand out.

"Thanks." I say as I get up, letting him take over a bit as I watch. He quickly unstitches it, pulling off the ear and setting it down. "Done."

"Thanks." I smile as I take up the ear, hunting for part of the fox's head. This is kind of fun. It's like one big puzzle.

"Ow," I hiss under my breath, staring at my bleeding finger as I stick it. "Freaking needle."

"Allow me, frau." His hand roughly snatches my wrist and pulls my arm forward, touching his tongue along the small bead of blood forming.

"Gah! What the heck!" I growl, trying to pull my had away. When did he get here and how did he get here so quickly?!

"Quiet frau." He growls, harshly biting my middle finger. Pain sinks into my skin along with his teeth, drawing more blood for him to devour. I cringe before he lightly sucks on my finger, lightly rubbing the skin to make more blood come to the surface.

"Hmph." He pulls my finger from his mouth, seeing that the blood has stopped coming out before glaring at me. Oh so it's _my_ fault I can't bleed any more than that?!

"What are _you_ doing back?" I bitingly growl, ripping my hand from his grasp. Ugh ... his 'lust' for blood is disgusting and disturbing. Blood tastes gross so how can he so happily drink it?

"You have no right to question my existence or my arrival." He gruffly counters, turning to look over the decimated fox remains. I heavily sigh as I take a few cautious steps back, making sure there's enough room to Spartan kick his nuts if he tried anything.

"Why did you turn?" I ask a little more nicely. Maybe I can try being nice. Try, being the key word.

"I turn when I see blood and other things." Atticus scoffs, picking up the needle and the fox.

"So _any_ kind of blood? Even this little bit?" I say, shocked as I look at my finger. Only a little dab set him off? Oh man wonderland is _so_ not the place for someone like him.

"Well, not usually maus," Atticus smugly says, delicately picking up a patch and sewing it onto the fox, so the hide is connecting to its shoulders. "I just felt like coming out."

" ... Why?" I ask, more surprised than angry. He felt like coming out so ... he did? He can do that? "I find it hard to believe Atticus doesn't know about you."

"Ha! He's so ignorant as he is innocent! If he hadn't found out about this when he was fifteen, then there's no way he's find out now," Atticus heartily laughs, picking up some scissors and snipping at the tail. I watch his handiwork shocked to already see a fox coming into view where before there were patches of fur. Wow ... he's a really good sewer.

"Fifteen ... so that's when you were, like, drafted?" I ask watching as he snips at its left front paw. He's just making more pieces. Well, it's all fixable. That's the point of a Voodoo doll.

"If you want answers you should ask the nicer me," Atticus snaps, digging the scissors into the chest of the animal.

"When were you drafted, Atticus?" I ask, sweeping a hand over his shoulder. He quickly slaps my hand away, turning to glare at me.

"I don't like Maus touching me." He snarls, popping off the left eye of the fox. I obediently keep my hands to myself, staring at the grouchy boy.

"Atticus, what happened to you?" I ask so sincerely that he pauses, glancing over his shoulder.

"Why do you care?" His eyes narrow, obviously suspicious.

"I want to know more about you, Atticus." I honestly say, staring at him with such seriousness that he hesitates.

"There's no reason to tell you." Atticus huffs, picking up a light green button he had in his pocket and sewing it onto where the missing eye was. I can already guess how this Atticus came to be. Maybe, through all the madness he's been through, he's had to create this other half in order to deal with all the insanity of war. My eyes soften as I come up behind him, gently hugging him from behind.

"I'm so sorry, Atticus." I mutter. He's been through so much pain ... it's amazing he's handled it so well. I'm sure there would have been many others who actually go insane and slaughter everyone. Well, he does too but he's a little more calculative about it.

"Gah! Get off of me, frau! We're suppose to hate each other, _hate_!" He snarls, almost desperate to have me despise him. To spit on him. To hate him with such a passion it would give him a reason to hurt me.

"Why?" I ask, looking at his reddening face from under my hair. His eye visibly twitches as he grits his teeth.

"No! Don't look at me like that!" He hisses, tightly gripping my forearm, "hate me, frau. Yell at me like you always do!" He spits acting as though he's being tortured by indecision. I silently study him. Why is he so desperate for me to hate him?

"Why?" I breathe, confused.

"Because that's all people feel for me!" He yells, eyes crazed with pain as he tightly grips the scissors in his hands.

"Yeah you're annoying. Mean. Cruel. And basically evil. However," I continue with a sweet smile. Why am I being so calm? Usually I am pretty angle but I don't care.

All I see is a lost little boy.

"I can't bring myself to hate you. Atticus. Even though I should." I honestly admit, pulling him into a firmer hug. He remains silent as his head falls back against my collarbone, numbly staring at the ceiling.

"... Verdammt ... warum kann ich dich nicht hassen, die man mit den Augen, am meisten?" He speaks angrily, yet softly, tightly squeezing the fox. I keep my arms around his shoulders, very gently running my fingers through his hair. Poor guy ... he needs help. And even if I can't give it to him I'll still try to be a friend.

Geh ... curse me and my bleeding heart.

‡

Awe~ who can already see this blowing up in her face? I can! I can! But I wonder how? **_10 REVIEWS_** to find out~ and in case you didn't realize it this is co written by ( . h)


	9. Chapter 9

"This sure is a lot of food. What do you think Gowland wants to do with all this?" Atticus asks as we walk down past the stalls. The large cardboard boxes of thawing meats weigh heavy in my arms as I wobble towards Gowland flipping burgers.

"He wants to hold a barbecue for the park and its employees." I say, teetering to the side before regaining my balance. Wow this is heavy. My arms are actually starting to ache. Atticus blinks, confused as he mutters 'barbecue' under his breath, thinking hard.

"What's a barbecue?" He asks, giving up on trying to discover it's meaning through his knowledge.

"What? You don't know what one is?" I ask, shocked. Whoa man, then he hasn't _lived_!

"No. Why? Is it yummy?" He asks, "is it a type of stew?"

"Yes it is yummy and it isn't stew. It's basically slabs of meat with a variety of sides to choose from. There's pork, chicken, beef, _steak_," I pause, drowning myself in the thought of biting into some steak. Steak~, "rice, corn ... there's a never ending feast!" I excitedly chatter, getting more and more worked up over my hunger. It's going to be so good~

"Steak~," Atticus sings, a dreamy look on his face as his gaze turns distant

"It's da best~," I drool lost in my fantasies with steak. UGH I could devour two pieces if I really wanted to it's so~ good!

"I think fish is better." Boris interrupts, popping in between us and slapping his arms over our shoulders, "a barbeque is incomplete without fish!"

"Yeah. True true." I agree with a distant smile, not really listening to him. Heck I don't care what else is there just fork me over some steak and I'm happy.

"Fish? There's fish at a barbecue?" Atticus asks and Boris shakes his head.

"Not normally, but if _I'm_ involved there will be! Behold! _Salmon_!" He happily shouts, presenting the both of us a large plastic box filled with live salmon swimming around. Oh man ... he actually bought them alive? Both of us stare at his smiling face for a few moments, speechless before I snicker.

"Well, at least they'll be fresh." I say, continuing towards Gowland already cooking some stuff up.

"Come on, come on! Let's hurry! I'm starved-!" Boris grins, running ahead with the plastic box. Gowland looks up as he hears Boris's shouting, spying me and Atticus struggling with the heavy boxes.

"Please, allow us~," two faceless swoop in, taking the boxes with ease before delivering the meats to their needed locations.

"Hey, Jackie, hello, Atticus! Oh, and Boris." He adds as an afterthought, paying more attention to the fact me and Atticus arrived together.

"Nice to see you too, old man," Boris sarcastically grumbles but soon grins, sneaking off to find his private grill to cook his fish on. I chuckle and stare at the sizzling meat, eyeing up a particularly large steak. So yummy~!

"Now what's this? An strange outdoor stove?" Atticus asks, looking at the large grill the workers had set out.

"Hah? You never seen one of these before?" Gowland asks, startled. Atticus walks closer, staring at the layout of the meat and Gowland's 'Kiss the Cook' apron.

"In my time, we never had something called a 'barbecue'." Atticus said, smiling as he smells the meat.

"What?! Well then boy you are in for a treat!" He shouts, flipping a meat patty on the grill that was separated from the rest. "Barbecue is what separates men from boys!"

"I thought it was strength and skills?" Atticus asks, watching as Gowland flips the burgers.

"Meh, that too, but meat makes you grow _big_ and _strong_!" He cries, flipping him up a burger. Gowland expertly slides the cooked patty onto a bun, tossing on some extra sides before flipping on the top.

"Meat is good, I can't wait," Atticus smile, nearly drooling as he looks over the burger.

"Here, take a break and eat up! I think you're going to like how it tastes. It's time for you to become a _real_ man!" Gowland laughs in a barking laughter, closely watching Atticus with a calculative spark to his gaze.

"Oh~ lucky!" I playfully pouts. Meh, he needs it. He's so skinny I can actually pin him to the ground without much trouble. It would be nice if he bulks up a little, just for self defense reasons.

"What's this?" He asks as Gowland sets the plate in Atticus's hands.

"It's a burger silly!" I laugh, picking it up. "You eat it like this." I say, making the motions of grabbing it as I take a pretend bite. "They're really good. You'll love it!"

"Of course he will! Boys become men when they eat it." Gowland says, folding his arms as he watches Atticus. He sheepishly looks between us both before settling down on a nearby bench table. Atticus picked up the burger, staring hesitantly at it before gulping.

"Well ... here I go." He lifts the burger up to his lips and takes a hearty bite. Without warning his back and biceps bulge, heavily expanding before falling a good inch bigger than it was before. My jaw drops, backing up as he swallows the bite. What the hell was that?!

"It's so good!" He shouts, not even paying attention to what just happened to him as he takes another big bite. I bulk as the same process takes place, emphasizing his pecks and stomach which tightly press against his now tight shirt. W-W-What is happening to him?! My mouth opens, trying to say something but my throat closes, mortified as I watch his body bulge and shrink, fluctuating with each bite before settling to a bulkier form.

"Our little Foreigner has become a man!" Gowland lets out a hearty laugh, waving the spatula in the air.

"W-What ... ?" I choke out as Atticus eagerly finishes, licking his fingers as he looks up with a innocently happy smile.

"Can I have another?" He excitedly asks, getting up. His large leg, where before it didn't even touch the table, knocks into it as he stands up and eagerly looks to Gowland.

"NO! No more!" I shout, unable to rip my eyes off of his bulky body. What happened?!

"W-why not?" Atticus asks, startled by my vehement denial.

"Haha, loosen up, Jackie, here. Your steak is done," Gowland cheekily grins, holding out a plate with the finished meat.

"Thank you." I mutter and place it aside before whipping around and snatching his shirt. "Now what in the hell did you do to Atticus?!"

"What do you mean?" Atticus innocently asks as he gets up. My eyes widen as I finally sees the full extent of just how muscular he suddenly got. He cringes, gently touching his fingers to his stomach. "Ugh ... my muscles are sore."

"Atticus just look at yourself! How-how did you not notice?!" I shout, pressing my hands against his chest. He doesn't even budge as I fall forward, pressing against his wide chest. H-he's freaking HUGE! I'm still slightly taller but holy _crap_ has he-he got bigger! Atticus pauses before shooting his arms around me and pulls me closer. His arms gently cradle my much smaller body, easily supporting my weight. He blinks, puzzled.

"When did you get so small Jackie?" He asks, staring at me with child like eyes.

"That's what I'm saying! Look at yourself, Atticus!" I cry as Boris snickers, placing his fish on some foil over the grill. I ignore him before Atticus looks down, finally seeing his bigger than before body.

"WAHHH! What happened?! D-does this happen when everyone becomes a man?" He asks, completely thrown for a loop as he backs up and touches himself, feeling his arms and stomach.

"Becomes a man?" I ask, estranged by the choice of words.

"HA!" Mary barks with a wide grin, "looks like the growth hormones did their work~,"

"What!?" I shout, whipping around to see a grinning Gowland flipping patties.

"Well, the boy looked stringy so I decided to add some. I'm glad they worked and didn't have any side effects! Although," Mary smirks before setting the spatula aside, walking up to Atticus as Mary stares at his pants.

"W-what?" Atticus stutters as Gowland's hand swings forwards and cups him. My jaw drops as he squeezes, unable to look away as Atticus's face darkens to the deepest shade of red that I've ever seen.

"M-Mary let go of that-!" I shout, mortified.

"Ha! It looks like his body isn't all that's grown!" He bellows as he folds his arms, clearly satisfied

"What?!" Atticus and I shout at the same time. A frightened expression warps Atticus's face before he zooms into the closest bathroom. I stare at the stall listening as a clear unzipping of the pants sounds.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" He shouts, clearly startled by the results.

"They grow up so fast," Gowland tearfully adds with a grin, flipping another burger separated from the rest.

"G-Gowland change him back!" I shout. There must have been some sort of side affect. After all people don't bulk up suddenly without some kind of after effect!

"No worries! Everything was taken care of. The only side effect are his pants getting tighter." Gowland snickers, grasping the air as if to show me. A shiver crawls down my spine. Oh. My. Gosh.

" ... F-From his muscles thighs right?" That's what I'm going to believe and I'm going to stick with it through and through.

"Just a little blessing from me to the couple." He sings.

"Haha! Nice one, old man!" Boris roars in laughter, doubling over.

"My gosh-is he going to be alright?" I ask glancing at the now silent bathroom.

"He should be fine! Either he learns to live with it or gets pudgy." He chuckles, pressing down on a few meats.

"Oh gosh ... Mary, do any other burgers have that?" I ask as a horrifying idea occurs to me.

"Of course they do!"

"GET RID OF THEM!"

"Ehhhh? But this is my gift to my precious employees!" He says, heartbroken that I'm not going along with his idea.

"Throw them out! I don't care! Burn them!"

"Fine...," he pouts, picking up the infected boxes and carrying them out with Boris's help. The moment they leave I walk over to the stall, nervously hesitating. Oh man this is bad ...

"H-Hey Atticus, are you alright?" I call, knocking on the door.

"What happened to meee~?" He softly cries in response. Oh man this doesn't sound good ... is it really that bad, uh, down there?

"U-um, is everything alright? As in the uh, downstairs department?" I curiously ask. There's no way something like that can ... grow, right?

"A lady shouldn't know such details!" He shouts as he grunts and metal clicks together, obviously wrestling with his zipper. "No! My pants won't fit! Dang it!"

"O-oh! I-I'll go get you some of the clothes we bought." I say before dashing off to my room. His pants won't fit ... he was a medium before. A blush flashes across my face. Don't think about it don't _think about it don't_ ... think about _IT_.

...

GAH!

"I'll just get the clothes he picked out from the store the other day," I dive for the closet, pulling out a few articles of clothing. Thank goodness we purchased some larger sizes. I dash back with the larger pants, looking away as he cracks the stall open and hands me his

"J-Jacks ... ," he softly mutters, a deep blush dabbing his cheeks.

"Yeah?" I say, nervously gulping as I keep my head firmly in the opposite direction.

"Hand me the pants, please ... ," he holds out his hand out, his face terribly heated. I reach in a little further blindly holding the pants out for him to take. The fabric slides from my fingers as he shuts the door. A few moments later the door bursts open and he quickly walks past me. I bulk, unable to stop my eyes from darting up and down his figure.

"Hey Atticus are you alright? You're not feeling funny are you?" I ask noticing how awkwardly he's walking. His steps are a little wider and his strides are longer. Oh man ... just what did Gowland to do _that_ part of him?

"Please don't follow me! I'll be back later!" He shouts with his ears as bright as cherries before speeding off.

"Atticus?" I say, watching as he whips around and into my apartment without a pause in beat. I stare at the door, waiting until he comes back out. Is he really alright? I jump as Atticus nervously walks out, wearing an American sergeant first class uniform, green beret, and brown combat boots. He blushes as he steps into view, closing the door behind him and walking over to me. His eyes stare off to the side clearly too embarrassed to look me in the eye.

I stare, inevitably darting my eyes up and down for a quick assessment. I've never been flustered by a soldier before but they do have a nice sense of manliness to them. His shirt presses tightly to his thick chest and slimmer stomach, showing the indents of a six pack. Oh ho~ he's got a nice triangle shape going on. Slimmer waist and broader shoulders.

... I kinda like that~

"Sorry, Jackie," he apologetically says, taking off his hat and held it in front of his chest before softly smiling.

"A-about what?" I ask, glancing off to the side. No, no I must stop staring, "there's nothing for you to apologize for. Mary, however, will face hells wrath after the event."

" ... You're probably right, but I also hope this wears off," Atticus sighs, holding up a hand and clenching it, "it feels weird."

"Yeah?" I numbly say, staring at his arm. His bicep strains and loosens from the slight exertion, catching my attention.

"Flex for me." I command, placing my smaller fingers around his arm. A slight blush crosses his face as I lightly squeeze, "well go on. I want to see how much you grew."

"Well, um ... okay ... ," Atticus nervously flexes, blushing like crazy. My eyes bug out as a grapefruit appears beneath his arm. Oh, my gosh?!

"Holy _crap_ Atticus they're bigger than mine!" I cry, almost mortified. Before they were easily smaller and much softer than this. My hands lightly squeeze the muscle before a disturbing makes my heart stop. If he's stronger than me now then that means the other Atticus has bulked up too. "Arm wrestle me."

"What?! Well, okay?" Atticus agrees, confused as I make him sit at an empty picnic table. I take my seat and nervously eye his bulging muscles. I really hope those are just for show and aren't the real deal here. If he turns and decides to kill me ... I nervously shake off the thought and assume the position. Atticus very gently yet firmly grasps my hand making me bulk from the power and demand for respect his grip alone holds. Oh man I'm just _screwed_. His hands are much bigger than mine.

"Your hands are smaller, Jacks." He mindlessly notes, giving it a light squeeze as a soft, sheepish smile crosses his face. My cheeks touch with pink. Smaller ... no one's really called me smaller than they are before. It's strangely nice. I return the pressure as he props his elbow up.

"Ready?" I ask, still slightly flushing at his remark. Small ... small? Yeah ... my hands _are_ pretty small compared to his.

"Set." Atticus nods, gently readjusting his hold.

"Go!" Atticus squeezes my fist, tipping it to the right just as I squeeze back, trying to keep my fist from losing any more ground than it already has. I push with all my might unable to budge him an inch. Holy crap why is he this strong?! I let out a startled cry as my arm gives way to his superior strength, slamming my hand into the wooden table.

"Ouch," I hiss under my breath, clutching my bleeding hand. Ow ... freaking splinters!

"Aw, did I hurt the maus' paw?" Atticus chuckles, tightening his grip and holding it up to his lips, "allow me." My immediate reaction is to pull away but his hand remains firm, hardly budging as he sets it by his lips. I cringe as his teeth bite the end of the stick and with exaggerated slowness pulls it out, spitting it back into the table where the larger than expected splinter sticks out of the wood grains. Ow that was a large one.

"Better?" He teases, tightening his grasp so it hurts. I open my mouth to protest but his eyes remain glued to the small dab of blood bubbling to the surface of my skin. Oh he's long gone at this point.

"Y-yeah." I nervously stutter, staring at his broad shoulders as he dips down and lightly sucks on the wound. What is this? It's like he's suddenly become more attractive. No ... I think it's just the way this Atticus carries himself in comparison to the other Atticus. He puts off confidence as the other is much more humble. I like confidence but it's his cocky attitude that's annoying.

"Hm. Not bad." Atticus pulls away, licking his lips as he stares at the wound. He slightly rubs around the wound, giving one final lick before releasing my hand.

"Thanks." I sarcastically mutter, wiping the saliva off my hand.

"I was talking about your blood, maus," Atticus snorts, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a napkin to wipe his lips. I remain silent, at a loss for words. Now what? I know he's stronger than me now and could actually hurt him. I was never really scared of him before because I knew f it came right down to it I could beat him. But now I'm not so sure and that scares the living hell out of me. Atticus wipes the corners of his mouth, glancing up to see me staring at him.

"What the f*** are you looking at?" The Nazi nastily hisses. I take a step forward and wrap my arms around his shoulders, startling the German. I let out a small sigh as my head thumps against his shoulder, enjoying the warmth. His build is just like my brother's before he passed. It's ... comforting. My eyelids close, letting myself fall into the ultimate state of comfort, probably the most at ease that he's ever seen me in when I am with him.

My eyes crack open as he huffs, probably deciding that it isn't worth anything to get up and leave so he instead remained still for me. His eyes study his stained napkin, deep in thought before I close my eyes again. This is very comforting. It's almost ... almost like hugging my twin brother. What is it about men that make me feel comfortable instead of nervous? My arms give his shoulders a light squeeze before letting go, trying to erase the depression in the back of my eyes. Ah~ I miss him. My younger twin brother.

"Thank you, Atticus. I appreciate it. Do you want another burger?" I offer seeing that Gowland already has a small stack all prepared.

"It better not have more of those enhanced strength hormone s*** in there or whatever you advanced people call them. I feel like I cheated," Atticus scowls, doing an experimenting flex as he runs his eyes along the results of the drug.

"I made him throw out the infected burgers." I sourly huff, remembering his stupidity before smiling, "the burgers he's making now are normal."

"Tch. And here everyone says the older, the wiser." Atticus smirks, glancing over to the pouting man.

"Not here so much," I correct, "do you still want one? Or some ribs? Steak, chicken, pork ... we've got tons of meat to choose from."

"Steak." He said after a moment of thinking it over.

"Alright." I grin, more excited to get myself a slice than him. Steak~

ATTICUS'S POV

I huffed, leaning into my palm and look the other way as I try to collect my thoughts once more.

...

...

Verdammt she has big boobs. I could feel them when she hugged me. Which was basically the only reason I let her do it for so long. I slyly glance over to her. Stupid frau.

"Tch. Whatever, there can only be one woman in my life," I grumble, grabbing my dog tags and gently squeeze the locket hidden within them.

JACKIE'S POV

I return a few moments later carrying two plates of steaks. Atticus snaps out of his thoughts, his eyes growing wider than the plate of steak before him.

"Mein Gott, this is _huge_! What the hell - is this a _normal_ portion?!" He demanded, flabbergasted as he looks mortified. "No wonder Americans are so fat!"

"Hm?" I hum, glancing up to him with a mouth full of steak. My eyes roll back, savoring the piece before swallowing. "Can you not finish it?" I ask, surprised. I would think that he would be able to easily finish it but I guess not.

"Tsk! Of course I can, watch me!" He spits, picking up his fork and knife before hesitantly staring at it. I lean forward and cradle my cheek with my hand, watching him. Oh this is too funny. He looks horrified to eat it. His eyes slide over in my direction, studying my intense stares. His fork stabs the meat while the knife ruthlessly cuts through it. He locks eyes with me and lifts a generous piece of steak to his lips, eating it whole. His eyes widen slightly before he eagerly takes another bite without fully chewing the other piece.

"Hey hey slow down!" I laugh, jumping as he holds out an empty plate. He painfully swallows before grinning, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and casting me a daring look.

"More, frau. This was easy" He commands with an excited grin. I grin and pick up the plate, trotting over and gathered four full sized pieces of steak. I'm going to kill him with food. Hee hee~ then he won't be able to move so much. His eyes grow wide as I approach with a sly smirk, giving him the large plate.

"Think you can finish that?" I taunt with a grin, tilting my head as I stare at him.

"Of course!" He scoffs, cutting into it before a larger plate with a large roasted salmon was placed before him. He jumps, blinking as he stared at the object. "What in Gott's name is th-"

"My present to you." Boris grins, proud about the perfectly cooked fish. I hold back a laugh. His stomach is going to explode if he eats all that.

"Still think you can do it?" I taunt with half lidded eyes, sounding much sexier than I meant to. His eyes flash, studying me before pushing the fish away.

"Everything but the fish!" Atticus protested.

"Not a fan?" I laugh as Boris rips it back.

"Good. I was only flaunting it anyway!" He sourly pouts, taking a bite with his ears down, "foreigners don't even know the goodness of fish ... ," he sulks with his ears down, refusing to look back at us.

"Hmph..!" Grumbling, Atticus cuts another piece and pops it into his mouth. I watch as he eats, taking my precious time eating my own. Well, at least with a bulging stomach he won't be able to run me down.

"Guh! Get that away from me!" Atticus yells, seeing that Boris was pushing a fish head at his direction.

"Hey, I saved you the best part!" He playfully taunts, wiggling it around in the air.

"IT'S NOT!" He shouts, tightly gripping his fork. Uh oh.

"Boris, come on. Oh hey pierce." I say, turning to a random direction. Boris immediately whips around with frenzied eyes, missing the tongs of Atticus's fork by inches. Atticus's eyes narrow, trying to pull it out of the wood to try again.

"Imma gonna eat ya!" He screams blindly dashing into the stalls.

"Heh. Works every time~," I grin, watching as Atticus rips his fork free and continues to eat. I watch as he grumbles, finishing the last steak before wiping his mouth with the napkin from before.

"Hm." He grunts, clearly on the verge of bursting open.

"Done?" I ask, surprised. I'm amazed he's still alive after eating all that. He leans back, clearly bloated as he patted his stomach.

"No more ... ," he groans, "you managed to get away from getting cut up a bit, but next time, don't count on being safe!" His shoulders slouch and his eyes close before opening to a more innocent look. Atticus groans, rubbing his stomach. "Oww ... why am I so full? I don't remember eating that much ... "

"It was probably so good that you forgot." I laugh, gently rubbing his back.

"Y-yeah ... ," Atticus slowly nods before blushing.

"You alright? You're flushed." I ask, touching the back of his neck. I hope he's not getting a fever or something.

"Gah! Hey, I'm f-fine...!" He shouts as his face grows darker, jumping up too fast. He hunches over for a minute, clutching his stomach, "Ow ... ,"

"Here lets lay down for a bit. I'll get you some tums." I say, patting his back as I guide him to my room. Atticus allows me to gently push him into the home, closing the door when he suddenly walks over to the couch and lays down on it, "h-here's fine..."

"You sure? You can have the bed again." I say, gesturing towards the bed.

"N-no, I'm fine, besides, it's your bed, you should sleep on it," Atticus softly says, clutching at his stomach. I gently hand him some tums with a sweet, almost regretful smile.

"Sorry. I thought you could handle some more meat." I apologize, gently rubbing his stomach. He remains still as I very gently run my fingers over his brownie cut abs. How in the heck did he get these?

"You're very good to me Jackie ... I really trust you." Atticus sighs as he slumps into the couch, clearly enjoying the soft treatment. I chuckle as I gently rub his stomach, sweeping my hand around to gently touch the edges of his pants and skin beneath his pecks.

"Is this helping? My brother always did this when I ate too much." I sadly smile at the memory, gently rubbing the skin. Atticus remains silent, probably sensing the slightly tenser atmosphere.

"Here, Jackie." He reaches up to his neck, slowly taking off the dog tag chain and holds it out for me. I glance at the tags and gently take it.

"Your tags?" I ask, confused.

"Look in between them. There's something special." Atticus says, offering a gentle smile. I raised an eyebrow, looking in the middle of the two dog tags and spy a silver sterling locket.

"Oh." I say, gently balancing it in my palm. He's got a locket. I wonder who's in it?

"Go ahead and look inside, it's a picture of my special girl," Atticus gently urges.

"Alright." I say, a little excited. I wonder who it's of?

"Special girl?" I ask, touching the locket so gently. He has a girlfriend maybe? "I see. That's nice, it must be some sort of charm to help you keep on living, right?"

"Yes, my baby sister is what keeps me going a lot during the war. Go ahead, open up." Atticus nods. Oh, so his "special girl" is his baby sister. How cute! I sigh with subconscious relief before popping it open, spying nothing inside. No picture, no engraving, no nothing. My eyes slightly open with horror. Oh no did it fall out? But he doesn't know since he just told me to look at it. What do I do?

"Oh ... Atticus ... ," I begin, heartbroken. What can I say? Should I tell him? Atticus glances over to me and smiles brightly.

"Isn't she cute?" A blush lightly dusts his cheeks, "she looks a little like you."

"Y-yeah?" I nervously say, gently shutting the locket. Maybe it's best to let him think there's a picture inside. He's got enough stress on his plate.

"Yes," he enthusiastically nods, resting his head against the arm rest.

"She adorable." I stiffly say, handing the tags back. Atticus takes it back, clutching it to his chest, as he averts his eyes and softly smiles.

"I think so too. I can't wait for the war to be over so that I can be there for her." He smiles, as if imagining the scene happening. "I'd like everything to be ... normal." He sighs before slumping over. Oh~ he's out like a light already. I lightly pat his cheeks seeing that he really did just fall asleep. Man that was fast! I sadly stare at the boy and his locket. He doesn't even realize that he can't leave until I finish my game. And I can't leave until Alice finishes her game. I sigh before leaving to my room and coming back with a blanket. I place it over him before taking his hat and sighing. "You poor lost boy..."

‡

Awe~ he's so cute! Sorry lol I had to bulk him up somehow and this is what I came up with. Love it? Knew it~ **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~


	10. Chapter 10

( : / / www . dhgate product / two - colors - sexy - bathing - suits - ladies - halter / 141514815 . html ) is Jackie's bathing suit just take out the spaces ;)

This is more of an extra chapter or two that more or less fits in. Something like a bit of comic relief? Ha ha ... sorta. I won't ask reviews for these chapters just because I HAD to add 'HIM' in somewhere :3

‡

The sun ruthlessly shines it's unbearably hot, harsh light as I slump over, doing my best to avoid touching the burning hot metal. Why has it been so hot lately? It's killing me! I feel like I'm about to slip right out of my uniform I'm so sweaty and hot and sticky and - UGH just gross in general.

"Ugh ... I hate the heat. Why had it been so hot lately?" I growl, aggravated by the sun's persistent visits and particularly bright ones. Ew ... sun.

"H-hey Jackie ... " Atticus says as he trudges over, sweat falling down his face as he breathes a little heavy. Awe ... I guess Germany is known for their colder weather and not as hot summers. I'll bet he's not used to this kind of thing at all.

"Ha. You look like you're melting." I breathe out a grin, trying to fight through the sweat plastering my clothes to my body. UGH I feel gross ...

"Melting? I sure feel like it," he laughs. He walks over with wobbly steps, still sweating but manages to have an adorable smile. My eyes fall over the drinks in his hands, immediately lusting after the cold looking drinks. Oh he's not leaving until he gives up at least one to me I've just decided.

"I came to bring you some drinks, I sure hope they're still cold-_how did the ice melt that_ _fast_?!" He shouts, staring open mouthed at the empty drinks. "I put ice cubes in them ten minutes ago!"

"When ice melts that fast it's too hot to work." I heavily sigh and slip out from the ride, walking up to him. "I need to change out of this sauna. Let's go back to the apartment."

"Jackie~," Boris's voice purrs before a heavy sweaty form leans on my back. Immediately all the sweat I was trying to avoid soaks into my clothes, leaving a large mark of moisture on it. EW! I bulk forward, gently elbowing his side as a warning to get off.

"No touching! It's too hot for hugs!" I sourly growl, immediately shaking the feline off.

"Boo~ then come to the pool with me!" He says, immediately brightening up with his infamous Cheshire grin. Swimming? That's right, we have a pool don't we? I've never really worked there myself since I'm not too into the pool area but that sounds amazing.

"Huh ... that doesn't sound too bad." I smile as I imagine the cold water on my skin instead of the sweat. That sounds like a _much_ better option than working and sweating like a pig.

"And you too." Boris grins as he yanks Atticus over. Atti jumps

"Whoa-! Ah, alright ... !?" He says, a bit shaky. I excitedly grin and look over Atticus. He'll like swimming I'm sure.

"Cool. I'll go get my suit on. Atticus, you don't have a swimsuit right?" I ask, looking to him. He came in his Nazi uniform so I doubt he will have the swimwear for it but we can buy him a pair. He stares at me as if I have three heads, slowly blinking before sheepishly tilting his head.

" ... what's a pool?" He asks, clearly confused. I chuckle at his reaction and shake my head. Ah~ they probably didn't really have pools in Germany in their time period. But that's alright; maybe this is the male bonding time between Boris and Atticus that is destined to happen.

"Boris, go take him to the shop for some. I will meet you at the pool." I say before walking off, thinking over which bathing suit to wear.

ATTICUS'S POV

"We're going to have some _fun_." Boris evilly grins, cracking his knuckles as my eyes widen a tad. I glance over to Jackie's swaying figure, pleading with my mind for her to come back. Please don't leave me with him. Jackie ... Help me~!

"Well, let's go shrimp!" Boris shouts, hooking an arm around my shoulders and yanking me around. "We'll pick out a suit so you look real~ nice. Not as good as me but ... Heeeeee~," Boris's eyes turn distant a he stares at the store nearby. "I can't wait to see her in a swimsuit~,"

"Swimsuit? Why do you look forward to Jackie being in a swimsuit?" I blink, struggling to come up with a reasonable reason why he would look forward to seeing Jackie in different clothes.

"Ha! So excited~ she's going to be looking rockin'!" Boris grins before shoving me inside and into the swim suit department. "Hurry up and choose. I want to be at the pool when she gets there." He growls before his voice turns mushy, his tail flickering excitedly.

"What? B-but I never wore any sort of clothing like these before! How am I supposed to chose?!" I say, frantic as I look at the dozens of choices before me. There are so many I don't know where to start.

"You've never gone swimming before?" He asks, shocked. "Do you even know how to swim?"

"Yes, I do, fortunately," my voice falters towards the end as I grow quiet. The first time I swam ... I nearly died. There was so much fire burning on the surface with the oil that - I quickly shake my head, ridding myself of the thought before quietly looking at Boris. I really don't want to have to relive that.

"Ugh here just get these." Boris huffs, annoyed as he throws a pair in my face. I grapple with the swim trunks and pull it off, looking to him in confusion. Boris's ears flatten in irritation before perking back up with a hint of drool on his lip. "Go get changed so we can go."

"Fine ... ," Impatient. I step into the changing room, switching my clothes with the swimtrunks. "Feels ... like boxers."

"Yeah great." Boris says already in a pair of pick boxers with a black cat head on. He grabs my hand and drags me out of the store. Why is he so excited? I don't get it. I stumble in the mad rush, dropping my clothes as he drags me to the pool.

"H-hey, slow down!" I say, reaching back for my clothes before giving up on that plight. He's not going to slow down or let go for anything.

"Ja~ckie in a ba~thing suit yessiree~," the cat hums, "I'm soooo happy he hid her other ones and only left the one for her~," he continues before they finally reach the busy and bustling pool area.

"Uh ... okay?" Atticus says, completely confused. Boris's eyes immediately scan the waters before the edges for Jackie.

"Good she's not here yet." Boris excitedly grins before standing by the entrance for her. I hesitate before standing beside him, curious as to why he's so excited to see Jackie in a swimsuit.

"Exactly what does this swimsuit look like?" I ask, standing beside Boris with a curious look.

"GAH! I'm already drooling!" Boris excitedly smiles.

"Boo~ I think we should have gone with yellow," a smaller guy with mouse ears and a tail says, he too looking in the distance. I jump, startled by the sudden appearance. W-Who is he?

"Did you hide the other suits good?" Boris asks, noticing he is there.

"I strategically placed them so she would not suspect we hid them in purpose yet well enough so she won't find them," the mouse answers back before squeaking, "s-so you're not going to eat me for five time changes right?"

"Yeah," Boris half heartedly says, scanning the crowds.

"And who are you?" I ask, finding a moment to cut in without being rude.

"Chu? Oh, I am pierce Villiers, the sleepy mouse." He sheepishly smiles, giving me his attention.

"A maus? And you're a katze?" I say, looking to Boris. He reluctantly tears his eyes from the road, probably curious about what katze means but puts the pieces together.

"Yeah?"

"But don't cats _chase_ mice?"

"Ha! Finally a foreigner that gets it!" He grins, patting me on the head as if I am a child. "I knew I liked you."

JACKIE'S POV

"Why are you all just standing there?" I ask, spying Boris, Pierce and Atticus standing together at the entrance. Were they all waiting for me? All of them immediately whip around, eyes glued to my short shorts jeans. I carefully study them before rolling my eyes and sliding past them, "if you aren't getting into the pool the I am."

"Where's your bathing suit?" Boris asks, almost disappointed as he looks over my tank top.

"I'm wearing it underneath." I say, slipping my red towel onto an unoccupied lounge chair. My fingers expertly pick at my pant buttons before sliding them off my hips. I glance back over my shoulder, noticing all three furiously flushing.

... Oh I get it.

I turn back around so they can't see my face and grin, slowly shifting my hips as I slide the pants off and to the ground. Oh gosh guys are just too funny. I bend over a little ways, plucking up my shorts and flung them onto the chair before setting my hands to the rim of my shirt, swaying a bit as I slide it off. I snicker at their reaction and toss my tank top onto the chair. I'm glad they're too distracted to pay the scars attention but then again, Boris already knew about them and pierce doesn't pay enough attention.

"M-Mien Gott! Jacks, cover yourself! Why did you undress in public and wear lingerie?!" Atticus shouts, mortified as he tosses his green towel over me and tries to cover me up from the others prying eyes. I struggle to hold in my laughter as I clutch his shoulder, struggling not to explode in laughter. He's just not used to this and I'll bet it's a bit of a culture shock for him.

"Atticus, calm down-!" I say, snorting a chuckle all the way through before covering my mouth.

"This is too much, please get changed!"

"Why? It's not like I have any others," I smile, taking the towel and pushing it against his face, "if it bothers you then just don't look."

"Mmhp!" He cries, stumbling back before removing the towel. I smile, trying to keep up polite ears and be patient with him. He's still learning so it's fine.

"Look, it's hot out and I don't want to be dressed in hot clothing. If you were sweating your butt off wouldn't you want to wear the least amount of clothes possible?" I say, trying to find a reasonable way to explain it to him so he could understand.

"W-Well yeah b-but for a lady-!" He cries, face bright red. I carefully study him before evilly grinning. Oh I can tease him on this one.

"So you're saying because I'm a girl I have to dress head to toe in clothes, letting the heatstroke kill me before I eagle dive off a building?" I say with a playfully dangerous edge to my voice.

"That's not what I ... ! F-Fine, whatever ... ," Atticus glooms before walking off to a happy Gowland serving shaved ice. Oh that's just too funny. He thought I was stripping by the poolside? Didn't he see any of the other faceless women in bathing suits? Hm ... maybe I was a bit too harsh on him.

"Jackie~ lets go swimming!" Boris eagerly ushers before dragging me to the pool.

"Ack! Wait!" I playfully shout as Boris throws me in. The second the cool water touches my skin instant relief washes through me. Ah~ so nice! I pop up through the water, grinning at the cat as I pretend to swoon back. "Agh~!"

"Haha!" Boris laughs before I splash water on him and grab his tail.

"YOW!" He shouts before jumping in, not waiting for me to painfully tug on his tail to make him fall in.

ATTICUS'S POV

I stare at Jackie's smiling face, chest tightening as Boris pushes her under the water. My chest hurts ... I glance over to the stand, watching as Pierce happily trots up to Gowland.

"Cheese water ice please." Pierce squeaks with an excited smile, staring at the untouched bin of cheese water ice. Huh. Must not be very popular. Gowland grins and scoops him up some.

"Sure thing!" He boisterously cries watching Boris and Jackie have fun before drifting his eyes over me, "eh? Atticus, why aren't you swimming?"

"Oh ... uh, I don't feel like swimming, I didn't even want to come here in the first place," I admit, casting Jackie a glance.

"Eh? Why not? The pool is a cesspool of ladies~," Gowland grins eyeing up one in particular sunning herself. I sigh before sadly smiling. True, but I don't like looking at women in that sort of light.

"Well, I don't feel like looking at a woman wearing something so ... obscene. And-"

"Atticus, come over and swim!" Jackie calls out. My blood freezes over before I pick up the snow cone from Gowland and pour a strange cheesy smelling liquid on it. I need to distract myself. If I don't I know I'm going to break and look over and see ... s-see-! I nervously swallow before sticking a stick of string cheese into the water ice and hand it to Pierce. He stares at it, flickering his tail in confusion.

"Here, Pierce, this is what you wanted, nein?" I ask, smiling. He immediately perks up and happily smiles.

"Wah~ thank you, chu!" Pierce cries, taking it and picking up a plastic spoon from the stand.

"Um, Gowland, may I have one too?" I ask, eyeing up the lime one.

"Of course~," he hums, scooping me up some shaves ice and squirting the green flavoring over it.

"You're so nice~ I like you!" Pierce smiles before giving me a hug. I bulk, startled by the show of affection before patting his shoulder.

"Uh, um, you too." I sheepishly say, eyeing the cone of water ice before Gowland hands it to me, "danke."

"Not a problem my friend-oh?" Gowland glances over to the roller coaster. Gowland's face falls to an impossible poker face, catching the attention of a few faceless.

"Allow me to take over for you~," a woman smiles before opening the side door to the shack Mary's in.

"Thank you, darlin'. You know what to do if they come here."

"Yes sir~," she kindly smiles, happily standing in his place as Mary walks out of the pool area with his violin in hand. Huh? Where is he going? Did something happen? I lean back out of Pierce's embrace, scanning the area as a precaution. Why was Gowland acting like that-

"Wahaha! It's the same shade as your hair!" Pierce cheerfully trills and hugs him tighter before letting go. "You're so cute!"

"Wah! C-Cute?!" I shout, startled as an embarrassed flush of heat rushes to my face, "n-no, not cute-!"

"Ha ha! You're more sheepish than I am!" Pierce very lightly teases before letting go, still keeping uncomfortable close though.

"Jackie~!" Boris loudly shouts. I glance over to the pool spying the tail end of Boris tackling her beneath the water with her foot flying in the air before she pops back up after some struggling.

"GAH! Oh you're going to get it now-!" She playfully growls before shoving his head beneath the water, making his arms flail. My chest aches as I turn my back on the two, wolfing down the ice in an attempt to distract myself. I must not look at Jacks that way, I must not look at Jacks that way, I must not -

"It's so cold-!" I shiver as I finish off the snow cone, feeling the dull throbbing of the cold needling my tongue and throat. I heavily breathe, trying to warm up my mouth as I throw the paper cone into the trash.

"Chu~ that must have been cold. Here." Pierce says, kindly offering a small napkin.

"Danke." I pant, rubbing my tongue over the napkin. Ow my head ... never again ...

"Atticus, come swimming-" Jackie starts before stopping short as I turn my head towards a small group of faceless children walking over.

"Play with us!" The little girl beams. I hesitate before kneeling down to their eye level.

"Me? Why?" I ask curiously, surprised that they came and asked me of all people to play with them.

"We wanna go play!" She delightfully cries, tugging on my arm towards the kiddy pool area where there are water guns hooked to the ground and a large play set.

"Alright then, I don't mind, let's play," I kindly smile and the children cheer, immediately pushing me towards the play set.

"Ah ha!" Jackie shouts, catching my attention. I glance over my shoulder spying Boris and Jackie fooling around in the pool before immediately looking away. I really mustn't look. That swimsuit is indecent. What would mutti say if she caught me looking? Even if she isn't here, a mother always knows. I tremble as the kids suddenly swoop in and demand for attention, pushing me towards the water gun arena.

JACKIE'S POV

"Ha! He got sucked into playing with the runts." Boris snickers, pointing to Atticus.

"Hm." I hum, staring after him. Why was he ignoring me? I know he could hear me. My annoyance slowly melts as I watch him get blasted by a few of the water guns the children are playing with, laughing under my breath as he tries to scramble away and get to cover. Well, at least he's having fun.

"And~ UP AND OVER!" Boris shouts, locking his arms around my waist before flipping me back into the water.

"Gah!" I shout, feeling my body become submerged as I worm out of his grasp and pop up to the surface before playfully crying, "cheater, I was distracted!"

"Then you should have looked~," he grins. My cheek twitches into a mischievous smile before I wrestled Boris into the water, losing more than winning in being dunked. My eyes catch sight of some emplyees by the edge with water guns pointed at Boris, dipping their hands down. Oh I get it. I spin around and dip under the water, throwing Boris for a loop as a few faceless in shoot him with water guns. I bolt over to the edge and come up, taking a water gun before joining in.

"Take that!"

"Cheater! You got reinforcements!" Boris playfully growls. He dips beneath the water and swims to me before shooting up, catching my back leg and upper back. I squirm as he lifts me clear out of the water, holding me up almost like a trophy.

"I am the king~!" He playfully shouts as I struggled to get down, all the while laughing at Boris. Oh he's just too funny. I smile and hop out of the water, ignoring Boris's protests before he is caught up in a water gun war with the other faceless. I glance up to the stand, finding a female attendent instead of Gowland. Where did Mary go? I turn around, spying Mary walking back into the pool area with some red splatters on him and a somewhat annoyed expression and his violin. Ha. I'll bet he tried to perform and people threw tomatoes at him or something.

"Hey, Gowland. Why is it so hot here? I didn't know that it could get hotter." I ask, walking up to him. Normally Wonderland's temperature is pretty normal - 70s or 80s really. He glances over, immediately brightening up with a smile.

"Ya don't know? It's April Season."

"April Season?"

"Ya. Oh, that's right! This is your first one. Basically each territory gets their own season and the Amusement Park has Summer this time around." He hums, looking up to the blaring sun as if to emphasize his point.

"Really?" I ask, startled. That's pretty cool, "and the others?"

"Not sure, darlin'. I haven't left yet to scope it out." He says, twitching his head to the side as he catches sight of something.

"That sounds like fun. My break lasts for another few time changes right?" I ask, watching his unchanging face. Did he hear me? "Gowland?"

" 'Course!" Gowland grins, finally giving me his attention before heading off to the water ice stand, "enjoy yourself and be careful, darlin'." I glance back at the sky, deep in thought. I should go explore a bit to see what's happened to Wonderland.

"Cool. Hey, Atti-," I start before catching myself. Nah, I won't bring him. I'll be quick anyway and it looks like he's having fun with those little kids. If he turns ... Gowland will take care of it. And Boris won't shoot him dead because he knows I like Atticus.

"I'm going to leave for a little bit. I'll be back soon." I grin and head over to the lounge chair with my things. I slip on my pants and grab my shirt and towel before briskly leaving, excited to see the changes to Wonderland. After I get a grip on what's going on I'll show Atticus around. I don't want to get stuck in trouble and have him with me. He might get hurt.

I turn the corner toward my apartment and slip inside, quickly changing. I want to leave before Atticus sees me. I kind of want to surprise him when I get to the other territories but I want to check them out first. I slip on a loose jacket and put another pair of short shorts and sneakers on before slipping out.

Hm. The paths are different as well. I wonder where this one will take me. I head off, glad to feel the summer heat cooling down as I head towards the Clock Tower. The paths definitely have changed. There are so many trees now! I'll bet it's like what happened in Clover Country with the lands shifting around. My eyes scan the trees spying arrows of all shapes and sizes pasted onto the trees. Weird ...

I move a little faster as I hear music not too far off. What other territory plays music other than the Amusement Park? My excitement rises a bit as I spy the top of a circus tent. Oh cool! Is the new territory a circus? I step into the clearing, spying a large array of tents and different faceless hurrying to and fro. Wow~ so cool!

Acrobats fly through the air, practicing their sacred arts as eyeless tigers roar in the distance. T-This is so _cool_! I've never been to a Circus before. My smile broadens as I step in the midst of the tents, weaving in and out as I look for the Role Holder. He should be here, shouldn't he? My eyes catch sight of a red headed man dressed much different from the rest as he waves off a few clowns to continue whatever job was given to them. Well he stands out.

"Hey-," I begin as the tents start to warp and shift. I bulk as iron poles shoot up from the ground and the tent walls fly around me, forming a box formation. W-What the heck? I stumble back, spying the same red head in a Warden's outfit. His malicious grin sends a shiver down my spine. How in the heck did I get here?!

"Well what have we here? A lost little foreigner?" He sweetly smiles, keeping his long whip in hand. W-Who is this? My head snaps up, spying a look alike enter into my field of vision. Identical twins? But they both have eyes, so they both must be Role Holders.

"Hey, Joker, do you think we can capture an intruder?" The one with the longer whip smiles, tapping his chin in playful thought. They know I'm an intruder. Who are these people?

"Why, I don't know Joker. Why don't we try it and find out?" The other man maliciously grins as he gently curls his fingers around the bar and pokes his head in a little closer before sweetly saying, "say, how would you like to be our little toy, Jackie?"

"T-Toy-?!" I bulk as the Warden's horse whip taps beneath my chin, making it sting as he forces me to look him in his single blood red orb. He wears an eye patch like Nightmare.

"Yeah. I like obedient toys. If you misbehave ... actually, let's see what would happen. I'm interested to find out." He grins before snapping his fingers. The bars mold into one another like glue forming a pale red wall that's slightly peeling. The strong scent of alcohol and cigarettes stab at my senses, making my heart stutter with fear.

N-No ... !

‡

JAY'S POV

"Ugh ... I think I drank too much." I whine, stepping through the creaky door. "Yo mom I'm home." I yawn, stepping inside. I glance off to the side spying Jackie lying motionless on the ground. My eyes widen as I immediately kneel by her side. "S***! Jackie?!"

"Huh. Interesting. It seems her last thoughts of Jay, through her begging for him to help her, have materialized. Heh ... **_I_** w**_o_**n**_d_**e**_r_** h**_o_**w **_A_**t**_t_**i**_c_**u**_s_** **_w_**i**_l_**l **_r_**e**_a_**c**_t_**?" Two red heads purr as the world around us shift.

"Hey! The f*** are you two?!" I harshly demand, hugging Jackie close as I glare at the trees with large arrows on them. How the hell did we get here?! Jackie groans in pain as her head limply cranes back. Oh man ... I'm tripping over here from what I huffed while Jackie is hurt. S***-!

"Hey..." I pat her cheeks, trying to revive her. Oh man this is bad. Mom really did it this time-!

"Hey, don't worry. I'm taking you to a hospital." I reassure as a bright purple star jumps around Jackie's face. No, no I need to concentrate. I grab her arm and drape her over my back. Thank goodness I'm not so wasted I can't tell where to go. But ... where am I? I blankly stare at all the signs before shaking my head. No use thinking about it now. I'm high as hell and I might as well keep going. I suck in a breath and trudge down the path, keeping a firm yet gentle grip on my sister.

Not even a sound from her ... but, I can feel her breathing on me. I grit my teeth, spying a large open gate before him. The hell? An amusement park? Oh to hell with it they should have a medic here or something.

"Welcome- _MISS JACKIE_?!" The worker at the ticket booth nearly screeches before coming out and around. My eyes widen as I stumble back, eyes locked to her smooth eye sockets where her face should be. W-where are her eyes?! Oh man I'm hopped up more than I though ...

"T-Two Jackie's? N-never mind that, Atticus! Oh, Atticus! Do come and help me!" She frantically calls out. I sniff, a bit amused. What kind of name is Atticus?

"I've got her. Just tell me when the hospital is." I say, readjusting my hold on her. Oh man is she messed up .. she _really_ needs help this time around.

"Nonsense! He will guide you at the least! Atticus!" She says, calling for Atticus again. I roll my eyes, trying not to think too hard about the eyeless woman. Forget it I'm high so of course I'm going to be seeing some messed up stuff.

"Here, here!" Some calls as a green headed boy turns the corner.

Atticus said, turning the corner. His heart stuttered as e spied Jackie looking up at him with her beautiful mismatched eyes, carrying someone with similar hair over her shoulder.

"J-Jackie-?!" He chokes out, mortified as he runs to my side. He looks right at me, severely confused. "J-Jackie, what happened?!"

"F*** off and tell me where the hospital is, twinkle toes." Not only did he think I was Jackie but ... those eyes looking at me. I don't like it one bit. My eyes narrow, coldly glaring at his desperate face. The sheepish boy cringes back slightly before pointing to a certain direction, "Um, there's a first aid station, but no one's there yet. I'll get someone if you need."

"Go get them." I coldly order before wobbling forward. Ugh ... _man_ I'm f***ed up right now. Why didn't I just turn down that last huff? S*** ... the entire path looks warped to me and there is a giant dancing chocolate chip cookie.

"Jackie, you silly girl, how was the searching around? Had any trouble?" The cookie asks as he struts down the path towards me.

"F*** off giant cookie. I'm not so far gone to know you're an illusion." I growl before continuing towards the medic tent. I stumble, making Jackie's neck crane slightly before thumping against my shoulder again.

"Whoa, two Jackie's?!" The cookie gaps, shocked.

"I'm Jay." I simply state before heading towards the tent with the cookie now following. Oh forget it I'll just ignore him.

"Jay? Another Foreigner? My goodness, now we have _four_ foreigners! Oh, I am Gowland by the way, Manager of this fine Amusement Park here," the cookie proudly says. I ignore the cookie and kick the door to the medic office open before going in and laying Jackie down. I go ahead and try the cabinets but they don't budge. D*** it they're locked. My eyes narrow at the locked padlocks as I wrap a rag around his hand. I curl it into a fist and ram it into the glass, sweeping the sharp shards aside and taking out the needed supplies before slipping off Jackie's pants and shirt. I blink, forcing my vision into focus as I eye up her injuries. Ugh ... not many cuts but lots of bruises I'm sure. I just hope I'm seeing right and not imagining some of the bruises.

"Hey, that's going on Jackie's pay if you keep putting out damages," Gowland pouts as Atticus barges in with a worker.

"Here's the doctor, like I promised!" The boy says, almost immediately freezing as he catches sight of Jackie's body. My eyes narrow in on the faint blush covering his face. This brat ... I'll bet he's infatuated with my sister. As if she'd ever go for a pansy like _him_.

"Took too long." I growl, dabbing a small ball of cotton over a cut.

"Sorry about that. How about I get some painkillers? We don't have any here." The doctor says, trying to be at least a little helpful.

"About time you do something useful." I growl, gently taking out a cream and rubbing it on some yellowing spots. Ugh ... those are going to leave some ugly marks.

"Right, and Atticus, please fix that up," the doctor directs, pointing to the broken cabinet. Atticus nods and immediately runs over.

"That's what I like to see, working boys~" Gowland laughs as the doctor frowns.

"And you should change out of that. No one is taking you seriously."

"EH!? But this is a promotion deal!" He huffs before slipping out of it, sliding his eyes over Jackie. "What happened to her?"

"The f*** should you care?" I shoot back, not even looking at the man as I dress her arm with a bandage. My eyes dangerously slide over to the green headed boy, spying him sneak a peek every few moments with his face darkening in red. Feh. Stupid virgin. Look at my sister again and I'll slaughter you.

"I'm her boss, of course I care," Gowland says, taken aback, "and Atticus over there is Jackie's coworker and roommate."

"Whoa hold up - _roommate_?!" I gawk, my jaw dropping as I whip around to face Atticus. I can't believe it! This little snot is - with my _sister_! "You f***ing around with my sister?!"

"GAH! NO, NO! NOT LIKE THAT!" Atticus stares at me with a face full of horror, his skin white, "we're coworkers and friends! Just that!"

"Although everyone suspects otherwise." Gowland mutters and grins, staring at Atticus's reaction as he gives the dead boy a thumbs up.

"Why would you think that?! We just get along, alright? You...you perverted old man!" Atticus stumbles out, blushing a deeper even shade of red.

"HEY! ... I am not old." Gowland huffs, crossing his arms.

"Old man, finish her up for me." I say as I stand up. My fingers curl into tightly locked fists, getting ready to pound his face in. He's f***ing my sister, no doubt. How the hell could Jackie fall for someone so spineless?

"Hey, buddy, come here." I growl, glaring at my prey. Like hell I'm going to let some punk screw with my sister.

"N-No, no it's not like that-!" He shouts before turning around and dashing off. I knew it! If he wasn't doing my sister then he wouldn't run. I immediately barrel after him, tearing out of the medic hall as I chase the boy.

"GAAAAAH, FOR THE LOVE OF GOTT, LISTEN TO ME!" Atticus cries, dashing off.

"Get your scrawny a** over here punk!" I shout, catching up to the boy. He may be a little bulkier than me but I'm still faster.

"AAHHHH! I SWEAR TO GOTT I-" the green head gasps as he spies a crowd of children up ahead, veering widely into an alley to avoid them. Ha. Stupid p**** scared of some children? I smirk and sharply veer after him, snatching the back of his collar and yank him back.

"WAAAH!" Atticus cries out, grabbing at the air for help. I pull my arm back, lashing it forward to connect to his head as he turns his head back at the right timing.

"Ack-!" He yelps as he falls to the ground, wiping his mouth as blood trickles from it. What, not even an attempt to fight me back? If he tried to kick me a** maybe I would have some respect for him. But hell, if he's not willing to fight back then he's worthless. I swing my foot back, digging it into his side as I kick him onto his back. He painfully huffs as I stomp my foot against his stomach, making sure he can't squirm away from me. Pathetic.

"F*** with my sister again you spineless s*** and I will knock your head clean off." I hiss, spitting right into Atticus's face. Really? Not even a word back or trying to kill me? Feh. My sister deserves better than whatever this turd has to offer. I turn around, walking out of the alley and pass the group of startled children. I blindly look over them before heading back towards the medic. My sister is what's most important right now and she needs help.

ATTICUS'S POV

I sit there, trembling as my face and side painfully throb. The back of my hand wipes against my lips, pulling it back to reveal some blood. W-What just happened? He punched me ... why would he punch me? He's Jackie's look alike, but he acts nothing like her. I flinch at the pain on my cheek, gently rubbing it. Ow ... it hurts so much. I flinch again, feeling my head sway before feeling numb.

Blood.

In exchange for pain, that look-a-like must pay back with blood-!

"Big brother?" I jolt, my eyes returning back to the normal emerald shade as I spy the worried children standing in front of me.

"That meanie hit big brother really badly!" The little girl cries, holding out her hankie. "Please, use this. Don't cry." I'm not crying. Why would she say something like that?

"Y-yeah, thanks...," I mutter, setting it against my bleeding nose and mouth. That was so bizarre! Why would he hit me like that? I hold the hankie to my nose, trying to stop the bleeding. Ow ...

"Cheer up, big brother, we'll stay here until you get better, okay?" The little girl offers. I stare at her before softly smiling.

"Thank you."

JAY'S POV

I sit at Jackie's bedside, staring at her sleeping form. I'm glad she doesn't look like she's in pain at least. I sweep a finger over her forehead, feeling her warmth over my skin. Jackie ... I'm really sorry I didn't come home earlier. I'm such a terrible little brother.

"Whoooa, Gowland was right, you do look like Jackie!" A pink haired cat eared boy exclaims as he walks in, hands behind his back. I glance over my shoulder spying a pink haired guy around my age waltz in. Gay fag that's all I have to say. Not that I hate them but they can be annoying, particularly when they hit on me.

"Yeah? What of it?" I growl, staring at the guy.

"Nothin', nothin', it's just pretty awesome, is all." He chuckles, his cat tail twitching, "I'm Boris by the way, and no worries, the old man told me about you, Jay."

"Yeah? What he say?" I ask, interested about my first impression on the older man. I didn't go too far insulting him did I? Since he's Jackie's boss I shouldn't piss him off too much.

"He says you're a disrespectful delinquent~!"

"Hm." I huff, looking back to Jackie. I've got to fix that. If Jackie finds out I disrespected her boss my a** really is going to be handed to me. "Yeah? What else." I state, disinterested in anything else.

"That he saw you punch Atticus out, and the old man was teasing ya~ so sensitive," Boris snickers. I glance back, staring at the cat's face.

"He saw that?" Well crap now Jackie really _is_ going to kill me. I turn around, gently laying my hand on her wrist. I'd rather be in trouble with her then let her suffer with a spineless man being her lover.

"Ahhh, now I feel sorry for Atticus. He didn't deserve that punch." Boris laughs, wiping a tear away from his eye.

"Hm." I hum, staring at Jackie's face. I'll just ignore him.

"You look a LOT like Jackie."

"..."

"I mean, you look so much alike if you two wore the same clothes I wouldn't be able to tell you two apart." He continues. Oh he's looking for an a** whooping.

"I HAVE A D*** AND SHE DOESN'T WHAT PROOF DO YOU WANT?!" I explode, lunging at the cat. He cackles as he dodges, leaping over me and landing beside Jackie, "awfully protective of her, aren't ya~?"

"You touch her and I'll castrate you." I icily hiss, glaring at the cat boy. I'm going to rip those ears and tail right off of him.

"What? But Jackie certainly didn't mind earlier when I held her legs on my shoulders." He laughs. I leap across the bed and make a swing at the cat, missing by inches.

Oh he's f***ing dead.

"Ha! You even aim like a girl!" He laughs, booking it out of the room with me close behind.

"I'm gonna kill ya!"

"Too slow!" Boris taunts, running off faster. "Try again later!" I scoop up a rock, chucking it right at the cat. I'm going to beat the crap out of him right here and now! He dipped to the side, dodging the projectile.

"MROW! Cheater!" Boris hisses before diving into a nearby storage room and slamming the door shut behind himself.

"F***ing cat thinks he can get away - where did he go?" I open the door spying a small cramped space, much too small to hide someone as tall as that guy. The hell? Where did he go? I throw the door shut before opening it again, thoroughly confused. How did he do that?

‡

When is she going to wake up? I heavily sigh and glance out the window, spying the green headed wuss carrying carnations wrapped in a clear plastic wrapper. The punk's back for more already? No, more than that who's the dirty blonde chick next him? I turn towards the cracked door, hearing their voices as they approach.

"They're lovely, Atti," a young woman's voice says, sounding cheerful. Hey ... is that blonde chick his girlfriend? That dirty player! And he thinks he can get it on with my sister too?

"Y-Yeah." Atticus stutters, sounding closer. My eyes narrow as I slump over the bed, pretending to be dozing off.

"Oh? Who could that be?" The girl muses. I hear a quick step back followed by the crinkling of the plastic as the weakling probably grips it too tight. Ha. I might as well scare his little girlfriend s***less while I'm at it. I slowly glance over my shoulder, passing my eyes over Atticus and roll them onto the girl in the blue dress, "who are you?"

"I'm Alice Liddell. A friend of Atticus and Jackie's, and you?" She sweetly smiles.

" ... Jay." I say. She's cute. Is little pansy cheating on my sister with this Alice? I slide my gaze over to Atticus before grinning. Well I might as well bash him a bit for screwing with his woman. That could be fun.

"Ah ... don't!" Atticus starts before I dart a leering glare over to Atticus, freezing him on the spot. I study his reaction before grinning. Feh. Wuss. At this rate I really am going to get away banging your girl. I have charms that are hard to resist and I know it.

"You're friends with my sister? How did you two meet?" I sweetly ask, turning back to Alice.

"We met when she came here to Wonderland, and after a little while, we both met Atticus! He makes the best chicken pot pie and bread pudding," she says with an adorable smile. She gently nudges Atticus, encouraging him to join in the conversation, "And Jackie just _loves_ your steak and potatoes!"

"Steak and potatoes huh? 10 bucks say yet can't compare to mine," I grin, gesturing to my pelvis where Alice couldn't see but Atticus could. He quickly shakes his head, waving his hands for no without Alice noticing, as if saying, 'I swear to Gott we're only friend so don't hit me!' He quickly hides his arms as Alice looks, returning my even gaze.

"Um, right." He says, nodding slightly.

"You can cook?" Alice asks, interested as she innocently smiles. My cheek twitches into a smile. Oh this little girl is too cute. No way Atticus screwed her. Yet.

"More than just that." I grin before sliding out of the chair and face them. 

"And what?" Atticus gulps as Alice tilts her head, curious.

"Well, I know how to turn one on really~ fast. Other guys can't compare to hot fast I can fire up a grill." I start, snickering at my own innuendos. Oh this is too funny ... I'm glad that punk at least understands what I'm saying.

"That's-"

"So how about Jackie, eh? We came here to visit her, nein?!" Atticus says, a bit desperate to divert the conversation.

"Heh." I scoff, staring at Atticus. "She's still sleeping. The doctors tell me she'll wake up in a few 'time changes'."

"Well, we still brought her a get well gift, her favorite dark chocolate and her favorite flowers," Alice said, holding up the bag. "She can enjoy them when she wakes up."

"Cute. Looks good. Mind if I snack too?" He hums, walking up to Alice. She flinches back, looking stern.

"N-No way! These are for Jackie." She huffs, jolting as Jay leans in to her left so Atticus would hear and see what he's doing.

"I wasn't talking about the basket." I seductively purr before lightly poking my tongue inside her ear.

"Eek!" She shouts, jumping back as she slaps a hand over her ear. I grin, victoriously holding the basket up.

"I win~," he hums, watching the rising blush on her face before darting his eyes to Atticus and darkly smirked. I win, punk. I can take any woman I want, including yours. You want to screw around? Fine. Then don't expect them to stay loyal to you when you are two timing them yourself. Alice hides behind Atticus, still holding her ear.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She growls, clinging to Atticus's sleeve.

"What would Blood do if he finds out?" Atticus gulps, paling. Blood?

"Blood? Who's Blood?" I ask, curious. Wait a minute ... is Atticus screwing a woman who already has a man? Oh that's messed up - I want in on that.

"Alice's boyfriend," Atticus explains and Alice whines, eyes shut.

"Why would you say that?!" She explodes, turning to anger instead of sheer embarrassment.

"S-Sorry, but it's true!" Atticus frets. I see ... so with their relationship weakened this jack swooped in and took her. What a man whore.

"I forgive you. I think I should get back to Blood, you promised to bring me back to the manor as soon as possible, right?" Alice asks as Atticus groans.

"Yeah ... "

"Here, let me take her and you can stay with my sister, Atti." I say, looping an arm around Atticus's shoulders and pull him into a side hug. "After all some alone time with the pretty little miss will turn out interesting won't it?" Jay murmurs in Atti's ear before offering Alice his hand. "I'm sorry for teasing you before. I promise to behave." He smiles, holding his hand for Alice to take.

"No way. Blood expects Atticus to take me back." Alice frowns before crossing her arms.

"I wonder why ... ," I mutter before chuckling. Now I really want to see the man she's two timing on. "Let me tag along. I want to meet other people who are here."

"Yo~ Alice." Someone's voice called. I looked up spying a man with orange hair and bunny ears poke his head in. "Alice, you might want to hurry back." He nervously says, glancing a strange glaring look over Atticus before softening his gaze to Alice. Oh ho~ looks like I'm not the only one who dislikes him.

"Hi, Elliot, what brings you here? Atticus was about to take me back home," Alice says and Atticus flinches before sighing.

"To bring you home. Blood is in a foul mood because of some ... hiccups with work." Elliot explains, irritably twitching his ears as he looks off to the side.

"Is he sick?" Alice gasps, concerned.

"In a way. His favorite tea shops were ... let's just say, suddenly cut short on their tea supply." He nervously continues saying it as if it is the most dreadful thing anyone could do.

"So that's why he's in a bad mood, and he sent you to get me, right?" Alice muses before turning to Atticus and Jay, "Sorry, but I have to go. Blood needs me."

"Go on, Alice. Don't worry about a thing, okay?" Atticus smiles. Ha. Using a sweet tooth voice to lure her in? Yeah right a** hole. I lean into the picture, hooking an arm around Atticus's neck and pull him against me in a friendly looking way.

"See ya around." I smile, giving her a playful wink. The moment she leaves the room my face turns hard, glaring over Atticus.

"I can't believe my sister would choose a scrawny a** guy to f***, but a _player_? Yeah, that's not going to fly mother f***er." I spit, tightening my grip around his neck before throwing him face. Atticus stumbles back, hitting the closed door as my arm traps him against the door. "You ever go at it with both at the same time?"

"No, no! I don't even do any of the stuff you accused me of!" Atticus says, his eyes quickly filling with fear, "Really! I swear!"

"Then why are you rooming with her? The only other reason I can think of is you stealing her panties when she's not paying attention. You a panty stealer?" I taunt, amused more so by his reaction. Oh this is too funny. The brat shrinks back, unable to saw anything.

"No. I'd never do anything indecent like that, the only reason I'm living under the same roof as her is because I had nowhere else to go," Atticus sighs. "Wonderland is dangerous, according to her."

"I'M the one that's dangerous here, jack off." I hiss before shoving him back against the door. He's not walking out of this medic room. Playing innocent to get into girls? Yeah, that's all fun for s***s and giggles but when it comes to my sister he's going to pay dearly for it. Atticus begins to wheeze, nearly hyperventilating in his fright. Hell if he's really going to let me push him around like this he's going to get hurt.

"Show some balls and man up or f*** off," I warn, grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking him forward, "Spineless jellyfish guys like you aren't meant to be my sister's man, got it? So get that thought out of your head."

"But I'm telling you, I'm not doing anything to Jackie!" He shouts, frightened out of his wits.

"How the hell do you expect me to believe that bulls***? Jackie would _never_ live with someone she's not f***ing seriously with, and here you are flirting and probably doing hell knows what to other women." I hiss, pressing my forearm against his throat.

"Ggh ... ! I'd never do that to any girl! Never! Stop-!" My forearm presses forward, cutting off his air supply. Oh forget it. He's so much of a pansy that I feel bad for kicking his a**. A small smirk spreads across his lips, a feral look forming in his eyes.

"Hey, hey~ what's with that defiant smirk, brat?" I growl, watching his eyes change from fear to excitement. I back up a few steps, watching as Atticus smoothly catches himself and grins at me. Huh. Did I break his sanity?

"That hurt quite a bit, blau vogel. This proves that all Americans get a kick out of hurting the Germans." He spits out his disgust, gently rubbing his neck. Blau vogel? Is that an insult? I feel that's an insult.

"You German? Huh. Well, I don't care who you're a part of and I don't really give two s***s about it. You're getting close to my sister and I don't like it." I grin, balling my hand into a fist. He got back up which means he's free game. From here on out it's 'self defense' and I'm sticking to that excuse.

"Oh, so you're the maus' brother? How cute." He chuckles, sliding a hand through his hair as he smiles.

"Maus? The f*** is that, German?" I ask, thinking about the meaning of it. What does maus mean?

"F**k yeah, it _is_!" My visible eye widens as I spy a fist coming my way. D*** he's quick! Pain bursts around my jaw as I lean back to lessen the blow, stumbling back as I clutch my jaw. This punk's got some power behind those muscles. Then why didn't he fight back before?

"That was for last time. Hurts, doesn't it? The next one will hurt even more!" He sneers, getting ready to try and knock me off my feet My eyes flash with fury before I launch into Atticus, tackling him right out of the room. He rolls over me before I right myself and jump up, kicking Atticus right in the gut to knock the wind right out of him. He painfully wheezes, clutching his stomach as I dance back and quickly lock the door. I don't want Jackie seeing this. I'm going to beat the s*** out of this punk right here and now. Atticus groans before his eyes flash. Swiftly jumping to his feet, his piercing green eyes glare at me as if to say 'I'm ready for a challenge'. I crane my neck back, cracking my knuckles in eager anticipation.

"Looks like the scrawny turd has some balls after all." I enthusiastically growled, leering over Atticus.

"Oh, say what you want, I LOVE American ignorance!" The green haired punk grins, full of excitement and bliss. He secretly likes fights but acts all innocent? What a crazy b******.

"You're f***ed up. I like that." I smirk. Usually it's the crazies which are the best and most unpredictable fighters. They're fun to go at it sometimes. Atticus grins, his eyes widening before he dashes forward. I hold up my arms, quickly reacting to punch him in the face. I've got him. Atticus immediately slaps his arm against mine, throwing me against the wall. D***!

"Ack!" I shout before whipping around, taking a fistful of his hair and throwing his head down as I ram my knee up into Atticus's face. Atticus bulks as I feel his face crush beneath my knee before I rip his head to the side and kick him a few feet back. Blood pools around his nose as he crazily grins.

"Let's go, German." I eagerly wave him forward as I slide a foot towards Atticus. He's fun.

"Ha ... ha ha. I think it's time for the blau vogel to taste the spite of a true German Nazi soldier." He chuckles, slumping his shoulders forward before leaning back. I hop back as Atticus lunges, kicking his arm aside before spinning around and ramming my elbow into his face. My victorious grin falters, spying that Atticus's hand caught my elbow.

"Nice moves, blau vogel." He spits, tightening his grip. He's had training.

"Feh. You know how to fight?" I growl. I know martial arts and street fighting but the way he moves reminds me of elite training.

"I was a Nazi soldier in WW2, blau vogel." Atticus grins before ramming his fist into my side. I bulk, only for a heavy fist to come my way, "and that's for spitting at my face!" He shouts, voice full of rage as my nose breaks under his fist, "and this is for calling me trash!" I stumble back, clutching my face as Atticus uppercut my face. "And this is for making those children cry for me when they saw you doing those stuff!" I smack against the wall, whipping my leg up just in time to hear a mighty large crunch as my foot jerks up against Atticus's precious area. He crumbles as I grin, tossing him to the side. "Careful. I play dirty."

Atticus coughs as pain surges through his body. Atticus pulls his fist back, gripping it to stop shaking and punches straight in my stomach.

"GAH!" I spit, gritting my teeth as I make a tight spin and ram my heel into Atticus's gut. D*** can he fight! Now I think I can see why Jackie likes him.

"Nice ... try, Vogel, but," I blink, shocked as he side stepped my foot and rams his palm into my throat, "I don't forgive Americans like you." My skull harshly meets the wall, his hand squeezing my neck as Atticus cruelly smashes my head against the wall several times. I tightly grip his wrist, trying to soften the blows on myself as the edges of my vision falter. S***! My eyes roll back before my head whips forward, roughly head butting Atticus. Atticus painfully recoils back before jamming his fist into my gut once more. I hunch over, dealing with the pain as he releases my neck and digs his fingers into my long hair. Ah s*** this isn't good.

"You think of me as trash? I think of you as scum!" Atticus hisses before roughly turning my head around and slamming my face into the wall. I harshly glare at the brat. This little s*** ... I can't move. A creepy grin appears on Atticus's face as I slump to the ground, trying to pick myself up enough to at least rip his junk off. D*** it he got me good with that last hit. I noisily hack, coughing up the taste of blood. Ugh I bit my tongue. Atticus dig his fingers into my hair, craning my head back.

"Hey ... you know how many times you called me trash or s***? How bold, for a stupid American," Atticus snickers, flipping out a Bowie knife from his back pocket. My eyes pop open as my heart stutters. Oh s***! I whip my arms around in an attempt to free myself. He's got a weapon?!

"You were talking big just a while ago, hm? Now you're trying to get away, how sad." He coos, pressing the tip of the blade into my shoulder before plunging it in deep.

"AH S***!" I scream as the blade digs into my shoulder. Atticus grins before twisting the blade around, making me shout in agony while I struggled to land a good hit. S*** this is _bad_!

"Hm ... what if I cut here?" Atticus asks, nicking my side. I grit my teeth, refusing to let him hear me scream. Messed up mother f***er ... I knew something was off with him.

"Oh? No screams? Well ... then how about a plunge?" The knife drives into my hip making me howl in pain through multiple cussing. S*** that hurts!

"F***!" Instead of screaming a stream of curse words flood room. S***, I was careless because he wasn't fighting back before. When did he suddenly grow a pair?!

"Hey, blau vogel, maybe after this I will go have fun with your sister?" He dangerously purrs, twisting the blade in my hip. My eyes flash as

"TOUCH HER AND I WILL F*** ING KILL YOU! S*** this f***ing _hurts_!" I shout, writhing as he struggles to get out from under Atticus.

Atticus snickers before trailing the knife from my side to the side, plunging it into my gut. Blood splatters onto Atticus's face as he grins.

"I'm going to cut that frau up nice and good because you're a pain in the a**, scum. Will she scream your name, I wonder?" Atticus creepily grins as he digs the knife into my back, carving out a large Nazi symbol through the muscles.

"Mother f***!" I shout, struggling to move as the knife sinks deeper and deeper into my back, touching my spine which sends searing agony tearing up my back. S*** this kills-!

"That looks great on you, or should I say _in_ you?" Atticus loudly laughs as I twitch, in too much in pain to swear at the insane soldier. This a**hole ... I jolt as Atticus rips my head back by the hair, tapping the blade against my neck. Hey ... is he really going to kill me? S*** ...

What will happen to Jackie?

ATTICUS'S POV

My eyes roll into the back of my head in pure bliss as I drag the blade across his throat, watching the blood splatter all over the ground and cover my hands. Ha ... ha ha! That's what you get, you American trash! I lean down as I pull his limp head back, hearing the last of his wheezing as he struggles to breathe.

"I'm going to take your sister because of you and I want you to listen." I darkly laugh before dropping his face into the puddle of his own blood. This is going to be _fun_.

"Feh. Listen for her screams." I grin, stepping over Jay. This is a great opportunity for me to slice that little maus up, "Oh ma~us~," I delightfully purr, pushing the door open. My hungry eyes leer over Jackie's sleeping form, watching as she tosses and turns restlessly. How nice. When she sleeps, her guard is down. What a great opportunity to cut her open. I step over to the bed side staring down at her. I like her red bangs. They literally frame her face in blood. Maybe I should -

"Unh ... Lassen Sie mich hören Sie stöhnen ... hee hee~," she giggles in her sleep, rolling over to her side, "Heil Hitler ... Atticus ... hee hee~ küss mich," she murmurs in her American accent but the words are clear. Oh Mein Gott this is _hilarious_! I snicker, flicking the blade up and catching it by the handle.

"Atticus ... Atti?" She grumbles in her sleep, tossing her head back and forth. I smirk and lean down, setting the blade on the table. I think hearing his sister moan is just as good as screaming for now.

"Attraktive frau ... unrein reden für mich." Atticus growls enthusiastically as I lean over the bed and press my lips to her neck. Her spine curls up as her fingers dig into the sheets, almost as if fighting with herself to wake up. I slowly suck before biting down, waiting for her reaction. She flinches in her sleep, barely rolling over as she looks up to me.

"Ugh ... Atticus ... ?" She mutters, cracking her eyes open. "Ow ... my head hurts." She whines, setting a hand on the aching spot as she squirmed within my hold. I pull back, slowly snatching the knife from the table as I grin. Enough is enough. She's awake now, which means I can-

"OH MY GOSH ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" She nearly screams, spying the blood splattered all over me. Her hands immediately cup my face as she turns my head in search for injuries.

"What the hell happened?! Where are you hurt? Who did this to you?" She asks, sliding her hand down my chest as she hunts for any cuts or bruises. I blink, taken aback and shocked at her immediate reaction. What ... ?

"I-I mean, oh, oh crap! D-Doctor! No, no, you're not hurt that bad. Did you get into a fight with Boris?" She asks, sliding out of the bed. "H-Here, sit down. I-I'll help your wounds." She frets, sitting me on the bed she was just on before scrambling in a near panic, collecting bandages and some disinfectants for him. I stare as she turns her back away, holding up the knife. I should do it right now, while she's not looking and ... I jolt and automatically hide the knife behind myself as she suddenly jumps up and returns to me.

"Jeez ... freaking Boris." She grumbles, opening the first aid kit and takes out a cotton ball and dips some disinfectant into it. She takes my arm, hesitating before looking into my eyes.

"It's going to sting a bit." She warns before lightly dabbing it along the wounds on my arm first. I flinch, trembling slightly. It stings ... but when she's doing it I don't really mind. "Take off your shirt." Jackie says after putting some bandaids on my arms.

" ... ," at times like this I don't want to deal with her when she's so...kind. Might as well switch over to the real Atticus. My eyes close before opening, revealing innocent green eyes as I suck in a short breath, shocked to feel pain.

"Ow!" I shout, retracting my arm. "W-What? What?!" I rasps, whipping my head around in shock.

"Atticus what's wrong?" Jackie asks, confused.

"T-That stung! W-What happened?" I ask, frantically looking around the room.

"I don't know, you just came here covered in bruises. Now take off your shirt so that I can finish the rest of the wounds."

"O-Ok?" He says before slipping off his shirt. She searches his abs and pecks, unable to see any injuries. "You look alright. How are you feeling?" She asks, looking me in the eyes.

"I feel worn out and sore," I honestly confess, "That, and lingering pain."

"Hm ... Boris must have done a number on you or something." She says, handing me my shirt. "There doesn't seem to be anything else wrong with you so that's good."

"Thank you very much Jackie, I appreciate it," I smile, pulling my shirt back on, "but I'm worried about you more. Someone brought you back to the Amusement Park, knocked out."

JACKIE'S POV

"Really?" She says, looking around the room. That's right! This is the medic room at the Amusement Park. I was at the Circus ... and then I don't remember anything. What happened?

"Well, I'm glad you feel better. Alice and I were worried. Look, we brought you dark chocolate and carnations." He brightly smiles, picking up the flowers and handing them to me.

"O-Oh ... ," I say, staring at the gifts. "Thanks. Sorry, uh, sorry for worrying you." I sheepishly smile, suddenly embarrassed.

"It's alright. As long as you're healthy."

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." I smile, hesitating before hugging Atticus. "Thank you. I appreciate it." He blushes, holding his arms up, slowly returning the hug.

"It's nothing, Jackie, I-"

"Aw, look at the happy couple, aaaaah~ youth~" Gowland sighs in content as he leans on the window ceil, making both me and Atticus flinch. I immediately whip my arms back and spin around, spying Gowland.

"P-Peeper! Peeping!" She shouts, flustered.

"Are ya calling me old?" Gowland asks, stroking his chin. Atticus trembles, holding back a chuckle.

"Exactly. Now get out before you decay." Jackie growled. Wow I'm suddenly in a bad mood ... why?

"Glad to see my engineer all better! Now we can all do the new promotion with the giant life sized cookies!" Gowland laughs and Atticus nervously chuckles.

"No."

"Eh?!"

‡

lol I just thought that would be cute to add in. Let me know what you think~ and only 5 REVIEWS for the next chapter this time since this was a bit of comic relief. :3


	11. Chapter 11

Just to clear things up Jay DID die in that scene. However, he disappeared back into Jackie's mind when she woke up. If she never woke up then he would have continued to bleed and die etc with someone finding him. If you would like a better explanation PM me or write a review asking me and I will explain more in depth in the next chapter. Toodles ma little Chickadees and enjoy~!

‡

I suck in a deep breath and turn to my side on the bed, thoroughly enjoying the comforting warmth trapped in the sheets. This is nice. No noise, no interruptions, no-

"MEIN GOOOOOOOTTT!" Atticus screams from the other side of the room.

"A-Atticus?!" I jolt in the bed, immediately sitting up as I stare wide eyed into the room and lock onto Atticus sitting up from the couch, gripping his hair. W-What the heck?! Atticus searches his body and pats himself down, eyes wide before falling off the couch in a flurry of thin blankets draping over him.

"Nein-! This wasn't a dream?! This really happened to me?!" He shouted, clearly thrown for a loop as he heavily breathed. I heavily breathe out, my heart still racing as I stare at the startled man. O-Oh ... right, he was, uh, enhanced in a way? Growth hormones in the burger? I'm really going to murder Gowland for that. You can't mess with people's bodies like that! Atticus sits up, blinking before running his fingers through his short hair.

"Uh ... um ... this is just ... Oh yes, I should cook! Cooking keeps my mind off things!" Jumping onto his feet, he runs off for the small kitchen I hardly use and immediately snatches up a pan. Cook?

I stare at him before tossing the covers aside, noticing that that I'm only wearing a pair of black silk short shorts and a long sleeved matching top. Meh, whatever. It's not like he's really going to be thinking anything. He's just a kid. I softly sigh and slide out of bed, about to leave before spying my wrench by the bedside. Huh. I must have dropped it last night. I turn around and promptly bend over to pick it up, trying to curl my sleepy fingers around the cool touching metal.

ATTICUS'S POV

"Uh, um, Jacks, what would you ... like ... ," I turn, about to ask what she would like for breakfast before spying her round rear end in the air, the shorts riding up to expose a decent amount of cheek. M-Mein Gott is she not wearing underwear?! I immediately turn away, heat flooding my face. Me-mein gott-! What was she doing?! No-can't think l-like that-! S-She's a really good friend letting me stay in her apartment. I-I can't think like that ... I just can't.

JACKIE'S POV

I lithely snap to my feet with the wrench in hand, setting it on the table before spying Atticus in the kitchen.

"What are you makin' Atticus?" I yawn, stretching before glancing down. Whoops, forgot I took my bra off last night. I trot over to the bathroom, barely casting Atticus a glance as I pass by him. I forgot I left it in there.

ATTICUS'S POV

My blush deepens as I twitch, watching her chest bounce slightly with every step she took towards the bathroom. The moment the door shuts I slump forward, already exhausted. Jackie ... why do you do this to me? No, no I can't think like that! A-Although I wish for her to cover up I don't think she'll do it. Then she'll know t-that I catch glimpses.

My flush deepens as I take out a large pot, staring into the empty sculpted metal. Hm ... should I make potato eggs and meat with toast, or a simple soup? What would Jackie like? The door squeaks open, signaling that she's in the room again. I hesitate to ask before promptly keeping my eyes on the pan. Must not look must not look must not look-

JACKIE'S POV

"Hey Atticus?" I ask, looking over to him as I stretch. Much better. His head snaps around in an instant and stares at me intently. He dumbly stares before shaking his head, forcing himself to concentrate.

"Yeah?" He hesitantly asks. Cute~ he must still be waking up.

"What are you making? You never answered." I say, not even bothering to look at him as I arrange my outfit for the day. It's my day off so I want to dress comfortably. Shorts and a long sleeved black shirt? Hm~ maybe.

"O-oh, well, I wanted to see if you'd like to have a traditional German breakfast with me," Atticus blushes, for some reason adverting his eyes from me.

"Hn? Oh, sure I'd love to." I sweetly grin before heading over to him. I should at least help out a little bit. I may not be the best cook but I can follow instructions. Atticus holds the pan up and bites his lower lip, sheepishly looking at me.

"S-sure ... I'll start cooking right away."

"What can I help with?" I ask, looking over the ingredients he's already gotten. Did he go out by himself to get these? When? Maybe last night after I fell asleep? Well that explains why he took the couch. I'm embarrassed that I accidentally fell asleep on the bed but hey, I was tired. It was a long day. "When did you go out and get these?"

"Huh? You mean you didn't?" Atticus asks, puzzled. I openly stare at him before smiling.

"Never mind. I forgot I went and got these myself." I wonder if the other Atticus went out and got these? She takes another look at the pile, suddenly cautious. Did he poison them?

"You can help make homemade jam. Do you like strawberries?" Atticus asks, sliding a carton of strawberries from the pile of groceries.

"Yes, I do." I smile, delicately dragging the strawberries towards myself. Atticus stares as I pull out a strawberry place the point on my lower lip, lightly rubbing the strawberry back and forth to feel the texture of it. My father taught me this trick to tell if a strawberry is good or not.

"Hm~ these are ripe. They're going to make some good jam." I grin, excited. I glance over to Atticus, noticing his slightly red cheeks before handing me a pot.

"Boil the strawberries with sugar, and be careful not to let it burn"

"Water _and_ sugar?" I ask, holding it in the sink as he watches me. I sheepishly smile and admit, "I've never made jam before."

"Never? I learned from the recipes in the newspapers I read in the coffee shops at Austria, here, I'll tell you the directions step by step," Atticus assures me, "chop the strawberries up and boil them in sugar and a little bit of lemon juice."

"Oh, alright." I smile. I would never have thought to add lemon juice to it. I gently pick up a small knife and slice through the strawberries with ease, letting Atticus start his portion of the meal before I finish and turn to him, "and now?"

"Place it in a skillet over medium heat, stir one half a cup of sugar and two teaspoons of lemon juice into the one quart sliced strawberries and stir frequently until it thickens and bubbles," he explains efficiently. I almost immediately zone out in the middle of his instructions. Alright I heard skillet in that so it's this thing right? As I reach for the skillet my elbow bumps into the cutting board, dropping one of the strawberry pieces. "Whoops."

"I got it-,"

"No, I got it." I says, dipping down as he did. I almost fall forward as his pelvis bumps into my butt, taking a step forward to steady myself. Whoops~ I giggle at the mistake just imagining his reaction.

"GAAH!" He yells, backing away and hitting the wall. "I'm sorry-!"

"Hm? For what?" I ask, staring at him with a puzzled smile. Well I wasn't disappointed. Besides, all he did was bump the back of his knife against me. No big deal.

"N-nothing ... ," Atticus blushes before looking away. Ha. He's so sheepish in the morning.

"Alright." I smile, letting it slide. He's been acting strange ever since he got the growth stuff. I finish up the strawberries, waiting for further instruction.

"Just add the sugar and lemon juice, boil it over medium heat and wait," Atticus says, struggling to have a good grip on a potato, immediately pulling at his collar to cool himself off. I do as I am told, watching as the soupy stuff begins to thicken a bit.

"Alright." I smile, proud of my accomplishment.

"Make sure it grows thick and boils over a little." Atticus says as he pushes over a glass jar. "You can put it in here when it's done."

"Ok." She smiles, eagerly watching for when it does just that. This is cool. I'm making jam with my very own hands. Atticus slowly peels the potato before glancing back at me, probably puzzled about why I'm so excited about watching jam thicken.

"Have you ... really never made jam before?" He asks, clearly stumped as to how it was possible.

"No. My mother never cooked much." I say with a tinge if sadness. No, no I need to concentrate on the jam right now.

"Is that so...? I'm sorry to hear that." Atticus pauses before setting the peeler down, looking around the kitchen for something.

"It's fine," I simply say, watching as it starts to boil over. He stops himself before glancing over and smiling.

"It's done. You can turn the stove off now." He instructions. I eagerly turn off the stove and look at him, making sure it's the right time to pour it in the jar.

"That looks good, go ahead," Atticus says, already finishing the potatoes and beef.

I eagerly pour the jam into the jar, flinching as some of the hot jam touches my skin but finished pouring anyway. Ow I burned myself. Hm ... I wonder how it tastes? I lean down with Atticus watching, dragging my tongue over the spot of jam before clicking my tongue to the roof of her mouth.

"It's pretty tasty but don't we have to refrigerate it?" I ask, turning to a stunned Atticus. "Atticus?"

"Ah...uh...um..." He stares before blinking, trying to recollect himself.

"Well? Do we put it in the fridge or not?" I ask, staring at his face as he starts looking at me cross eyed. Is he alright?

"Yeah ... ," he shakes his head, handing me the lid without looking at me. I take it, glancing over him before screwing it on and placing the jar in the fridge. He turns away, picking up an egg and staring at it. Is he alright? Hm ... he saw me lick the jam off. Oh ... ha. That wasn't too seductive for him was it? No, he wouldn't be thinking that. He's still younger than I am.

"Atticus!" I say, suddenly behind him and he lets out a short cry, almost dropping the egg and quickly cracked it open onto the frying pan. He spins around with a eat red face, staring incredulous at me as I lean forward.

"Are you feeling alright? You're redder than usual." I say, touching his shoulder with the same hand I licked the jam off of. Atticus crazily blushes, looking every which way instead at me.

"Well ... I ... ah ... um ... butter." He says, nervous.

"Butter?"

"I forgot butter, so I can't make scrambled eggs." He blushes sheepishly, looking away.

"That's alright I have a small can of Pam." I say, trotting over to the corner. I reach up on her toes and leave forward slightly, working the can closer with my fingers before prying it off the shelf.

ATTICUS'S POV

My eyes remain glued to her sturdy and curvy body, unable to look away from it. It's just so ... different from other people that I've seen. This is real and lively, not dead and molding. She makes a slight hop, making her shorts flare up a bit. Ah ... yeah, I really don't think she's wearing underwear.

I shouldn't look, it's not right. I look away, taking a small salt shaker and adding a small amount to the egg before turning up the heat on the stove before glancing back at Jackie. "Jackie, you need any help?"

JACKIE'S POV

"Uh, no I'm good." I say as he watches me struggle. Well this is embarrassing. I can't reach it at all. He sighs and walks over, reaching above me. I think it's funny how he got a little taller after eating the burger. Not by much by at least now he's a few inches taller than me. I wonder if he'll continue to grow? His foot slips slightly as he falls forward, pressing right up against my back and pressing me against the counter.

"Whoops, sorry - ... Atticus please tell me that's the blunt end of the knife." I say as he quickly rips himself off and turns around.

"Yes, yes it was! Sorry about that, it was dangerous of me," he says apologetically, setting the knife down on the counter.

...

Why does it smell like smoke?

"Gah!" I cry, diving over him to turn off the stove. I snatch the wooden spoon and stir it up, trying to save some of the burning eggs.

"J-Jackie...!" Atticus blushes as the side of my body pressed up against him.

"Gah! The bottom burned." I huff before flipping the surviving eggs into a smaller pan, beginning to scrape the burnt eggs away. Atticus moves around me, reaching up for the Pam and successfully takes it down. "... I got the Pam."

"Alright." I huff, barreling a spatula against the charred eggs into the trash can. Dang it. Well, at least some survived. I glance over the remaining food, looking forward to what else we're going to make. I can't wait to eat it~

‡

"Wow ... Um ... Atticus, you know we could just have toast." I say as I look over the mass abundance of food. Wow ... we made _way_ too much for just the two of us. At least we'll have lots of leftovers.

"Okay, tomorrow I'll make toast. Hm, what goes well with toast? Ah, ham, bacon, eggs," he says with a smile, listing off some of the things we could eat with it.

"No, no, just toast! It looks hard to make food like this every day." I say, glancing over it. I don't want him thinking that I'm going to be expecting food like this every day. That's way too much to ask of him!

"Oh, it's no trouble, but if you want just toast, then alright. Maybe I can make some jam for it? And homemade butter! Strawberry, grape, apple butter," he excitedly chatters. I heavily sigh out a smile. Well, he's enthusiastic now that there's plenty of food available. That's good at least.

"Yeah, alright chef." I smile before sitting down, deciding what to devour first. It all looks so good!

"I'm a little nervous about you trying out German food. I hope it's to your liking," Atticus blushes, taking a piece of homemade bread and spreading the strawberry jam I gmade, biting into it. I eagerly bite into the potatoes, eyes widening.

"W-wow this is _really_ good!" I shout, eagerly taking another bite. So good! Atticus looks up, still nibbling on the bread. I happily swallow the chunks of meat, flying high with contentment. It's so good ... I've hardly ever had home cooked meals before and this is fantastic! I eagerly grab another slice of meat devouring it on the spot.

"He-hey, careful," Atticus says, pushing some orange juice over to me, "you might choke if you eat too fast."

"Thanks Atticus." I smile before chugging the orange juice. I hope Atticus likes girls that eat heartily and not daintily. Or, in other words, a healthy appetite. Atticus bites into his bread, blushing. I lean back, seeing all the other foods are out of my reach, as I rub my stomach in an attempt to help settle the food. Ow ... ate too much ... but it was so _good_!

"Did the little maus eat a little more than she could chew?" Atticus cooes as he leans forward with his hands folded over his lips, staring at me. My eyes pop open as my heart jerks. H-he changed? Why?! My head snaps up, spying Atticus dangerously grinning in my direction.

"Oh, maus, maus ... don't look shock, you'll see more of me from now on," Atticus snickers, tossing the bread onto the table, "tch, too sweet."

"More of you? Why? No why the heck did you come out?" I'm not bleeding and there was no gunshot so why did he shift back? He reaches out, snatching a piece of beef and stuffs it into his mouth before lazily chewing.

"No more medicine." He says with a mouth full of food before swallowing the giant lump of foood.

"Medicine?" I've never seen him take medicine before. Has he secretly been taking them?

"Hard of hearing, frau? Medicine for this PTSD issue, and Atticus only thinks it's vitamin supplements, but he's running out, and that means I can come out whenever I feel like it," Atticus darkly grins before taking another hearty bite. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach. Oh man ... oh, no no, that's not good.

"Why do you have so much control on it and your other self doesn't?" I ask, deciding conversation would be best until I digest enough to run for my freaking life.

"He's weak, a pansy, he cares more about others than himself," he explains, stabbing a fork into some potatoes, "I can't help it if I'm stronger. After all, I was only created to deal with the pain."

I remain silent a I study him. I figured as much. I don't think I've ever heard of someone developing a completely different personality though. Maybe he's just extremely bipolar? Oh this is just too confusing! I gently rub my painfully full stomach, trying to digest faster. Oh come on ... either digest or let me poop it all out.

"The little maus ate too much and that's a bad decision, seeing that you can't run around too fast without getting cramps," Atticus snickers, dropping his fork on the plate. He picks up his napkin and neatly wipes the food from the corners of his mouth with a grin. My eyes narrow as stands up. I'm not stronger anymore. If he really wants to he can seriously hurt me. I slide to my feet too, staring evenly at the suddenly intimidating boy. Oh man I'm in a pickle.

"Is that fear I see in your eyes?" Atticus purrs, a slowly broadening sinister smile growing across his face.

"Caution." I quickly correct, nervously swallowing. He grins as I take a nervous step back, getting ready to at least make it out the door. There's a better chance losing him in the park itself than my room. If worse comes to worse though I could book it to the Hatter's Mansion and get Elliot to help me. After I take his gun from him, anyway.

"If you run, I will find you and hurt you more than I intend to give you," Atticus warns, already catching on to my easy to read positioning to the door. My eyes narrow as my feet remain rooted in place. Gosh dang it he's right and I wouldn't doubt it if he can outrun me now too. I flinch as he reaches across the table, brushing a hand over my cheek.

"Ja, now that's a good maus." He purrs with a sadistically crooked grin. I flinch as he grabs my chin, tilting her head up, "now ... what kind of frau are you, not wearing any underwear around a growing man like me?"

"Huh? I'm wearing underwear." I say, puzzled as I glance at my shorts. Whoops. Was he able to look up there? Well, what I'm wearing is closer to a thong really but I'm still wearing underwear.

"It's inappropriate, mein Gott!" He snaps, roughly tossing my chin aside as he pulls back with a disgusted sneer.

"Then don't look." I counter before reminding him, "it's still my apartment that you're staying at." If it bothers him so much then just don't look. Atticus thinks for a minute before smirking.

"Yeah, you're right. This is your domain, not mine." He haughtily chuckles, coming around the table.

"Yeah. So back off." I growl, tapping his chest back. At least for now I can bark at him all I want but I know it's him who has the real bite I have to look out for.

"So you wouldn't mind me leaving, right?" He asks, sliding his eyes over to the door before trying to step around me. My heart leaps into my mouth before quickly stepping in front of him and instinctively wrapping an arm around his to pull him back.

"You can't-!" I start, before letting go and retreating a few steps. B-But if he leaves he could piss off a Role Holder. And then he _and_ the other Atticus would be dead. I ... I can't let that happen. He harshly glares at me and sneers, looking like he's trying to decide whether to kill me now or later.

"Why not?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. Crap I'm stuck. My lips form a hard line as I try to think of an answer. Well he's not wrong. "Shouldn't you be happy, Maus?"

"Just put the other Atticus in." I snap, trying to jump topics. I can't tell him it's because I care for the other Atticus. But why now? It's the simplest explanation and it's the truth.

"If I felt like it, I can stay in control forever. I don't have to listen to you, maus." He grins. Oh great now he's getting all high and mighty just because I can't do much to him.

"But why not? You're safe here." I say, dancing in front of him as he attempts to leave again. His eyes narrow as his eyes become dead and lifeless.

"I don't like safe. You can't protect someone forever." He grumbles, pushing me aside and heading for the door. I stumble back and smack against the wall, freezing. H-Holy crap ... did he really just shove me that hard? My head snaps up, spying Atticus's surprise as well. He pauses, studying my shock before looking at his hand with a vicious grin.

"Hmhmhm ... heheheh. I didn't even _try_. Perhaps I'm regaining my old strength when my Nazi brethren trained me? Oh, this is too amüsant!" He snickers, heading to the door and taking the knob.

I grit my teeth and follow him out, keeping a few feet behind him. I ... can't lose him. Leaving him is out of the question and I don't want him to get hurt. UGH this sucks! I make no attempt to cover up the fact that I am following him, only keeping a few feet distance so if he spins around on me I will have time to Spartan kick his nuts again. And I'm thinking this time I'm going to crack them open like a pair of eggs. Atticus glances back, scowling at my obvious tailing.

"Quit following me, maus." Atticus hisses, still walking. I frowned and continue after him, taking a few steps back when he turned towards her before openly rolling his eyes and continuing. He huffs, heading straight into the crowded area of the stalls.

"If you think you can lose me on my own turf you're stupider than I thought." I huff, trying to aggravate him. If I piss him off enough he'll chase me. Then, maybe the other Atticus will come out after some time? Yeah, or I pop like a balloon while I'm running with all this food still in me. I could always throw it up but that's a waist of delicious food.

Atticus snickers, shaking his head and weaving his way through the crowd as he heads for the exit. I smoothly follow after him, stiffly side stepping the people. Ugh ... my stomach still hurts. If he makes a run for it I might not be able to catch up. Evil Atticus loose in Wonderland? I shiver at the thought, watching him pass through the exit and immediately take off like a rocket. I clench my teeth before throwing my wrench, watching as it catches both his ankles and dash after him. If I get him on his stomach it will be easier to handle him.

"FICKEN!" He shouts before falling flat on his stomach. I hastily sit on his back, relying on my weight to hold him as I grapple with his powerfully struggling arms. I don't think I've ever wished to weight more than I do in my entire life than right now. He worms and wriggles beneath me, easily lifting himself back up as I struggle to keep him down.

"Just LISTEN to me, Atticus! Wonderland is dangerous by yourself!" I grunt, pinning his shoulders down.

"If I can survive No Man's Land then I can survive _this_!" He hisses, pushing me off with ease before shoving me against the ground.

"Ah-!" I squeak, clenching my teeth as I glare at him, "Wonderland is _nothing_ like that!" I shout, unsure of what I'm really trying to convince him of. What is No Man's Land?

"Oh? Worse than No man's land? Where you get mowed down instantly? How scary," Atticus sneers, tightly gripping her shoulders, "and to think, this little maus is trying to protect me? How sickening."

ATTICUS'S POV

She tightly grips my wrists in a pathetic attempt to free herself but it feels more like gentle caresses across my skin. Was little maus always this weak? Feh. Pathetic.

"O-Ow, that hurts-!" She cries, obviously struggling with all her might. Now I'm just embarrassed that this woman was able to detain me before with such little hands. Back then I would not be surprised that she could pin me bit now it's the other way around. So small and weak ... it makes me want to hurt her for being so small and pathetic now. And to think I actually held the tiniest bit of respect the older frau because she was stronger.

JACKIE'S POV

"It hurts? Good. I want it to hurt. Such a weak little maus." He playfully teases, leaning down so his face is just above mine. I grit my teeth and struggle against his grasp, unable to even budge an inch. Why is he so strong?! UGH it's annoying!

"Hm... I wonder why maus cares so much for a damned soul like me? It's a waste of time, even I wouldn't take the moment to save myself." Atticus mutters, squeezing tighter. "So tell me, why?"

"Ow! Ow ow ow get off!" I shout, struggling harder against his grasp. This hurts like a motha humpa! He's squeezing my wrists so hard they're going to break-! Atticus tilts his head, tapping his forehead to mine before loosening his painful grasp, but still holds a tight grip, "tell me, frau."

"Y-you're a foreigner. And so am I." I turn my head, trying not to look at him.

"You should look me in the eyes, or I'll think that there is another reason," Atticus mutters against my ear. I try to shrink back but he holds me tighter. There's no way out. Right now, he can do whatever he wants to me and I can't do anything to fight back. My chest squeezes with fear as I look him in his murderous eyes, trying to cover up the panic rising deep within me.

"S-stop." I stutter, my voice trilling a bit from my chest squeezing tighter.

"Why should I, Maus? Are you worried about something? Am I intimidating you?" Atticus smoothly purrs, one hand running across my shoulder and touching my cheek. "Hm?"

" ... I said let go." I breathe, feeling a strange tingle crawl across my skin as he repeats the stroking motion. I don't like being pinned down. Or touched. Or made to feel weak. And this guy is doing all of that without even trying. It's making me mad how weak I am against him.

"And I said tell me." He counters, his eyes softening a tad from the hard, cutting edge murderous gleam his eyes alone normally hold.

"Y-you're going to get hurt. That's why." I unwillingly admit, looking him in the eyes as my breathing slows. I didn't want to tell him the truth because he's just going to say 'little maus cares for me? Disgusting' or something along those lines. Atticus leans in, staring into my eyes before saying with a straight face, "I was shot at, exposed to danger every minute of my life, saw my comrades die the most gruesome of deaths ... I think me getting hurt is the least of my worries, or anyone's worries, but then little maus wouldn't like that, would she? But why? _Other_ than being just another Foreigner," he clarifies, trying to find the root of why I want to help him so much. Why _do_ I want to help him so much? This side is selfish, cruel and murderous. But his other, true side ...

"Y-You're sweet. And kind. I ... I'm only doing what I wished someone did for me when I first got here. I was terrified, Atticus. I still am of this place and I wanted to do everything in my power to stop you from suffering the same fate." I shakily say, staring into his eyes to show I'm lying in the least.

ATTICUS'S POV

"Such a sweet answer." I miff, uncomfortable by her honesty. I run my fingers through her hair, sighing as I tightly took a fistful and watched her face cringe in the pinching pain before loosening my grasp. Mein Gott, she has me in a corner. This might be the first time I don't want to hurt someone who was so honest. Everyone else I watched be burned or stabbed repeatedly with a smile but now I don't have that desire for her.

Ficken, she cheated! She has the soft, innocent gaze that reminds me of the frightened children hiding in the shelters, the look in their eyes when I alone turned on my company and slaughtered them for trying to kill the children. They were Germans too, but it was their parents who betrayed us Nazi's so we were to kill them all. Instead, I strung up my comrade's guts and told the Nazi's that we were attacked by the Americans and spared the children.

Those children were glad to have someone protect them when no one else wanted to.

"You're ridiculous, frau ... " I mutter, clenching her hair in my fist again to see her grimace in pain before the children's blubbering thankful cries reverberating in my ears loosen my fingers. Ficken what a cheating American doing this to me ...

JACKIE'S POV

I remain silent, chest squeezing. So embarrassing ... honestly why did I just say that? Now he thinks I'm crazy. Oh to HELL with what he thinks! My soft, honest gaze hardens as the defensive layers of my pride are thrown up, locking away the fear and heartache.

"But then again, I did the same thing, helping others when no one was there to help us," he says, a different emotion glazing over the layers of his eyes as his fingers lightly combed through my hair. I stare at his face struggling to place a name to the emotion slowly twisting his features, my chest apprehensively tightening. Huh ... he's helped people? Well at least that makes him somewhat human.

"What I do next, you better not mistaken it for something else!" He hisses, making my heart skip a beat. Oh no what is he going to do? My eyes widen as he leans down a tad, hesitating as he closely studies my eyes. I jolt as his lips press against mine, firm but soft. K-k-k-_kiss_?! I freeze stiff as his fingers tighten their grip once again, firmly holding my head in place as he tilts his head. He pulls back for a small breath before angling his head to deepen the kiss.

"Hn, hmph!" I whimper beneath his lips, jolting as he tightens his fingers in my hair. Ow that hurts!

"Wir sind gleich zu Selbstlosigkeit an andere zu kämpfen," he boldly purrs, drawing back before leaving another kiss at the corner of my mouth, "wenn nicht für Umstände, könnte ich euch geliebt habe." I flinch, alienated by the struggle of love and hate in his words. What on earth is he saying? He forces my head to the side, sliding his tongue into my ear before withdrawing and licking it. I try to move away but his death grip on my hair tightens, pulling out a few weaker strands as a warning not to move, "wenn Sie die anderen mich mögen, akzeptieren mich ... dann ... Ich kann dich lieben."

I gasp, breathing harder as his lips press against the corner of her jaw. W-What the hell is he saying? I don't understand at all! I jolt as he leans in again, sweetly connecting our mouths before parting his lips. Something warm and smooth slides along my lower lip before he pulls back with a hazy eyed poker face.

"Schön," he chuckles before glancing down. His eyes widen as he jumps off, "ich bin ein Idiot! Wie konnte das so schnell passieren?!" He trembles before blinking, gasping, "Uwah! How did we get out here?!"

My hand immediately covers my lips as I stare at him in shock. He-he-he-! He just kissed me?! I thought he always wanted to kill me and then he goes and does something like that to me?! Atticus glances to the left and then the right before finally looking at my flushing face.

"Jackie? What happened?" He innocently asks, staring at my wide eyes. My lips tremble as I struggle to get out even a squeak. K-Kiss ... kiss ... a freaking psychotic _kid_ kissed me. I curl into a ball and thump my forehead against my knees. Hell I don't even know _what_ I should be feeling right now!

"J-Jackie?" Atticus crawls over, unsure of what to do as his bright eyes remain glued to my face, "Jackie, is something the matter? Does your stomach hurt that much?" Scary ... I take a deep breath before looking up with a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, it does." I regretfully say. I shudder from his voice being so close to me, sliding my fingers over my moist ear. He stuck his tongue in my ear. Ew~! It's still wet too! I rub my ear against my shoulder, trying to get all the saliva out. So gross! How is that even _remotely_ sexy?!

"Uh ... um, then we should get that taken care of," Atticus says as he gets up and holds his hand out for me, "let's go home." I cringe at the sight of his hand but otherwise take it and let him help me up.

"Y-Yeah." I stutter, following after him. I openly stare at the hand that held my hair so tightly, unable to stop the inevitable shivers crawling through the crevices in my spine. R-Relax. He's normal now. My gaze slides over his firm, slightly chapped slips before shivering.

He reaches for the door to my apartment, letting me enter before him. I silently pass him and immediately lay down on the bed, hugging my aching stomach. It feels like I have a freaking food baby in here. Atticus hesitates by the door before walking over to the bed and taking his seat near my head. My heart skips a beat as he reaches over, gently sliding his hand back and forth over my belly. Why is he ... ?

"Remember when I ate too much and you rubbed my stomach? You helped me a lot." He sheepishly says, noticing my rigid position despite his attempts of comfort.

"Right ... ," I mutter, staring at the ceiling. I almost forgot about that. Maybe I was being too forward doing that but I had innocent intentions. And so does this Atticus. I slightly flinch as his hand slides under my shirt, never going near the boundaries of my upper ribs and softly rubs my stomach. I heavily sigh and close my eyes, enjoying the feel his warm skin against mine. He's so kind ... I slightly grunt as his hand pushes down a little harder.

"Hn...not so hard...," I mutter, sounding like I am on the verge of sleep. Did I doze off for a few minutes? The hand pauses before roughly shoving down into my stomach, nearly making the food all instantly come up. I gag and curl up, immediately protecting my vulnerable belly before rolling to my side and away from him.

"T-That hurt!" I cough, tightly holding my stomach.

"So frail, maus," Atticus chuckles, watching me rub my belly in an attempt to soothe the pain, "I believe I like you best when you're in schmerz."

"S-Sadist." I growl, curling into a protected ball. Dang it ... I still can't move very well. Atticus hums, taking it as a compliment.

"Why thank you." He chuckles. I tremble as I hug my bloated belly, hiding it from his hands. I am _never_ eating so much again in my life. This is terrible! He has complete control here!

"Awe~ does the little maus need her belly rubbed?" He teasingly coos, gripping my arm as he rolls me onto my back. I remain curled up in a ball, still gripping my stomach as I glare at him. Jerk.

"If the maus wants it gentle, then perhaps I can be generous?" Atticus muses, pushing my hands off and harshly rubs my stomach. With each hard push the undigested food lurches towards the base of my throat, threatening to be expelled if the painful pressure isn't let up soon.

"Ow! Ow ow!" I shout, struggling to wrestle his hands off but he easily sweeps my weak arms aside and continues, "that's hurts get off!" I spit, curving my spine as I struggle to get him off. OW! If he keeps this up I might actually throw up! His hands vanish as he falls back, clutching his own stomach. An insane fit of laughter erupts from his throat as he madly cackles, thoroughly entertained with my pain. I grit my teeth and sit up, glaring at him. Freaking jerk. His eyes coolly fall over me as a wide, crazed smile spread across his lips.

"Ich mag kleine Maus. Ich mag kleine Maus in Schmerzen," Atticus smirks, getting onto his knees and immediately pins me to the bed, "I wie kleine Maus wütend, ich mag kleine Maus Angst. Ich frage mich ... Was wenig Maus sieht wie zu weinen?" My eyes narrow as I struggle to move. Dang it ... dang it! Why does he have to be so strong?!

"I'm curious to see all kinds of emotion on your face, maus," Atticus purrs, his grip tightening.

"Get off!" I growl, shoving his shoulders back before he quickly and efficiently gets his control back.

"Why should I listen to a helpless little maus?" He asks as gently raindrops thrum against the window. My eyes glance past his face, spying the tiny droplets quickly multiply into streams down the window. Oh great now it's raining. Nothing like a little storming to set up a murder scene.

"I wonder what face you'll make if I do this?" He purrs, leaning down with an evil grin. My eyes narrow as I cup my lips, feeling his mouth tap against my fingers. His eyes flash, clearly angry with my small show of defiance.

"I don't kiss kids." I haughtily growl. He surprised me the first time and I'm not going to fall for the same trick again.

"You think of me as a child, maus?" Atticus asks, studying me before faintly smiling, "so are you."

"I'm older." I bluntly huff, giving up on struggling for the time being. I'm only wearing myself out. I need to wait for him to relax and then let my energy out in sharp, violent bursts if I have a real chance of getting away.

"And? Being older matters? Not to me it doesn't." He grins, rubbing his thumb in circles against my wrist almost as an attempt to soften my callous look on the matter.

"Respect your elders," I snap, grasping at straws to keep him distracted. Rain taps harder on the window, hardly catching my attention. I hope it doesn't start storming soon. If it does ... oh then I'm just screwed.

"I kill them, Maus." Atticus chuckles, fondly look into my eyes. Well, at least he doesn't want to kill me at the moment but it's him getting into my pants that I need to be aware of. Maybe-

BOOOOM-!

ATTICUS'S POV

"How fun! It sounds like bombs going off, doesn't it maus?" I look through the window over her bed, watching it flash with light from a nearby lightning strike with a vicious grin. So many memories this brings! Ah~ this is perfect. Having an attractive frau beneath me with the storm banging up a ruckus outside and the noise, _oh_ the glorious noise of the bombs going off and the screams and limbs flying everywhere-! Ah~ so much bliss.

BOOOOOOM

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Jackie shrieks without warning, wildly throwing her hands up and thrashing. "Let me go! Let me go right _now_!" She screams, struggling to break my grasp. I bulk, startled by her renewal of energy before scowling. Thinking my distraction will give you a chance to flee, maus? Clever, but you are no match for my Nazi might. I hold her down, ignoring her kicking and screaming. The traumatic look in her eyes says it all, startling me before I drink in the favorable look. How beautiful. Does she realize now the true danger she's in?

"Stop it! It wasn't my fault!" She screams at the top of her lungs. "He pushed me out of the way THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO!" She shrieks, the agony shredding her sanity apart piece by piece behind those illustrious eyes of hers. Her chest heaves as her breathing falters ever few moments, threatening to send her over the edge of reality. My eyes narrow as I hold her wrists over her head with one hand, gently cupping her thrashing cheek as her mortified eyes glue to the outside world through the window.

"Little maus, why do you scream so beautifully?" I ask with a smile, gently stroking her flushed cheek. I don't like the fact she's screaming and I don't know why. I would rather know why she screams than just listen to it - even though either way is pleasant.

"Please, please stop mom! I swear I didn't mean to - he, he tripped, mom please-!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

She let out another soul wrenching scream as she weakly struggles with my grasp, wriggling her torso around. I roughly sit on her hips, tightly gripping her jaws and force her to look at me.

"And? What about your mother, little maus?" I sweetly coo, trying to be patient with her. I want to know why she screams like this, and how I could recreate such powerfully, emotionally motivated screams in the future. I've never seen her scream so loud before and I like it.

"Please, please no!" She repeatedly shouts, tears glistening in her eyes as she looks everywhere but at my face. My excitement drops to a disappointed pout before I tightly grip her jaws and force her to look at me.

"Look me in the eyes, maus and tell me why you scream like this." I demand a little more coldly. Pay attention to me. I'm your captor here. It's impolite to go off screaming in your own little fantasy and not let me be the reason behind it. Her eyes continue to blindly scan the room, almost as though searching for someone important to her.

"Feh. You are a stubborn, annoying frau." I growl, sliding off the bed. She immediately got to her feet, making a dive for the closet. I yank her back and curl my arm around her neck and waist, pressing her back flush against me as I stumble over to the door with her struggling. Ficken her legs are strong. My cheek twitches into a smile as I force her forward, watching the tears spill over the rim of her eyelids. But I will always be stronger.

"If you don't tell me I'll push you out." I playfully threaten, leaning back as she kicks the door in an attempt to get free. I sneer and kick the back of her knee before slamming her against the door, watching her face warp into complete, wide eyed horror. Still this woman does not look at me, even when I have her subdued in my grasp.

Her face twists with absolute horror as she leans back into my chest, weakly clutching my stomach as she tries to retreat from the door. She furiously shakes her head against my chest, making me hum. I like this frau struggling against me. It's very ... pleasant, particularly to imagine, having her weak form trying with all her might to flee while I will always be in control. It's cute to imagine the bursts of hope she gets, right before I crush them along with her spirit. I sneer at her resistance to speak, slowly turning the doorknob

"Oh? Maybe I should leave you outside. Unless you want to talk." I kindly offer, feeling her buck against me. I slide my other hand to her face, covering her eyes and force her head against my shoulder. She's so cute when she struggles this much.

"No, no stop!" She desperately pleads, making me hesitate from the sheer trill coating her voice. Her eyes moisten beneath my fingers with stubborn tears as she intently listens to my breathing, seeking for any sense of mercy. She looks and sounds like she's on death row but still has a ray of hope. Her dainty fingers dig into my shirt before I pry them off, gently nudging the door open with my foot. Not yet. I'm not going to let her go until she will cling to me with every sense of desperation this little body of hers has. Only when she'll undoubtedly cling to me without ever thinking of fleeing will I relent.

She will learn here and now to rely solely on me for her safety and sanity.

Sheets of rain pour onto the cobble stone path as I edge her into the street, keeping her beneath the overhanging roof but touch her foot to a nearby puddle. Her breathing quickens with crippling fear as she leans fully back into me, trying to hide her eyes in my neck. I grin, still keeping her in a choke hold and move the hand over her eyes to her hair. I take a thick chunk of hair in my fist, forcing her teary eyes to look into the striking thunder and lightning.

"Come on, frau, here we are, outside, where you're completely vulnerable." I coo, shivering from her body pressing against me, clearly relying solely on me to help her. Not yet. I want to push her and see the last bit of hope and freedom she has be dashed away and stay with me, desperately pressing against me as I hold her from shattering apart.

"No, no _stop it_!" She screams, trying to break free from me.

"Not yet." I murmur, pressing my lips to the corner of her jaw before staring into the storm myself. She's so cute, having such a terrible fear like this ... who could have imagined that the woman who easily took me out before is frightened senseless by a little thunder and lightning?

"Please stop!" She shrieks, trying repeatedly to retreat back inside so she can hide. Stop it, frau. _I'm _the only one that can save you here. If you run and hide beneath a sink, trusting that pathetic hunk of wood to protect you I will tie you down out here and watch you scream to your heart's content before screaming my name desperately.

"It's too late frau, what you fear is now here." I hum, pushing her away from the house. Tying her up out here actually sounds like an excellent idea. And when I free her, out here in the middle of the storm, she will cling to me and me alone.

"No, no no-! NOOOOO!" She screams at the top of her lungs before dashing right into the storm. My eyes widen, shocked. She ran _into_ her fears instead of into me?!

"Hey, stupid Frau!" I shout before dashing after her, roughly snatching her by the hair and rip her head back. She gasps and drops to her knees, sobbing hysterically as she hugs herself. I sneer in disgust, tightening my grip as she barely acknowledges her hair on the verge of being ripped out of her skull. How dare she! How dare she try to comfort herself when _I'm_ clearly so much stronger!

"I will teach you not to act so high and mighty, stupid frau." I spit, dragging her thrashing body by the hair to a nearby thin metal pole. The lightning is a ways off so it won't strike here; yet. I will tie her up here and wait for her to beg and plead before I let her go. Yeah, that sounds good. I'll leave and hide close by so she thinks I leave. Ha! Perfect!

She digs her nails into my hand before I whip her around, smacking her back against the metal pole before gripping her belt and force her to sit. She loudly wails before clenching her teeth, never looking me in the eye as she searches the thundering skies for her angel of death. I roughly sit in her lap and unbuckle her pants, forcing her arms behind the pole before I tightly buckle her hands together.

"No, no stop!" She shrieks, petrified as she heavily breathes. I tighten the belt around her wrists and grunt before leaning back with a gently smile. No, I don't want her moving at all. I reach down and slip off my own, snatching her hair before forcing her head against the pole. "PLEASE! STOP!"

"No. This little frau needs to learn her matters," I grin, soaking in the pleas with joy. Despite the cold rain her desperate screams send warm tingles down my spine, making my eyes roll back in pure pleasure. So sweet ... I will come back once she screams my name and begs to me come back.

"Stop! I'm so scared, so scared!"

"I know." I sweetly smile as I lean forward, kissing her blind eye, "but this is how you will learn to love me, my little liebe." I cutely coo before standing up with an excited grin. She'll call my name. I know she will. I just need to be patient.

BBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM

"EEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!" She screeches at the top of her lungs, desperately kicking the ground and wriggling against the restraints. Jackie lifts herself up with her feet, curving her spine up, down and side to side but her neck and arms remain firmly tied by the restraints. I smile, pleased with my work.

"Stop, stop it please! Let me back inside-!" She loudly wails, her chest madly heaving with traumatizing horror Ha. You'll never get out of those without my help, frau. My grin widens, imagining how she will scream my name before skipping away to a nearby corner and hide behind it.

"PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME!" She continually shrieks, making my blood crawl with anticipation. Say it ... scream my name as loud as you can, frau, and then I will help you. I tightly grip my biceps, waiting for her to say it. Say it ... say it, woman!

BBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM

Her crying wails grow more and more desperate as disappointment begins to settle deep in my heart. Why won't she call out for me? I'm here, keeping her under my watch. I'm the last one she saw so she knows I'm in the area. Does she hate me so much she refuses to call out to me? No, no that's not it. That frau will call for me like the Hündin she is any minute now. I just need to be patient.

"JACKIE?!" A deep, male voice shouts, startling me. Someone else is out here in this storm? Ficken! I didn't think anyone would be here. I whip around spying the annoying orange haired man kneeling beside her with his gun pointed to the restraints. It two quick shots the restraints come undone and she slumps to the ground, covering her eyes as she wildly screams and cries out in fear.

"A-AHH! Ah! AH! AAAHHHHH!" She wheezes out sharp shouts of spine tingling fear, hugging herself as she struggled to piece her mind back together.

"What in Wonderland happened to you, Jackie?" He asks, gently cupping her cheek. D*** you ... how dare you! She would have said my name at any minute! My eyes narrow as I trot over to the man, glaring at my foiled plot. Curse him to the deepest pits of hell for this-!

"E-Elliot~!" She loudly sobs, her chest frantically heaving as he wraps his arms around her.

"Hey, hey shh. It's alright now." He softly comforts as he hugs her close. My chest squeezes as I grit my teeth, watching as the man wrongfully comforts her. D*** you, kanin! She was supposed to scream _my_ name, and rely on _me_ to help her-!

Elliot quickly gets to his feet, still holding my frau close before dashing through the path towards her apartment. Ficken! Curse that rabbit! I growl under my breath and chase after the man, wanting nothing more than to run my blade through his throat. He ruined everything. I had her right where I wanted her, and then he had to come and set her loose. The b****** never pauses as he slides through the door and closes it, immediately grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her shivering form.

I stumble inside and shut the door, glaring at him as he comforts her. No, wrong! You weren't supposed to interrupt, you stupid _kanin_! He dashes around the room, shutting all the blinds and flicking on the light before kneeling before her and covering her ears with his hands. She terribly trembles with fear as she hugs her knees, letting the tears run freely down her face with softened sharp cries of fear and despair. How disgusting, another man touching her-! Elliot glances up, his ear twitching as he spies me. His eyes tighten as he stands up before softening, clearly having an internal war within himself as to how to act towards me. This kanin will die for ruining that moment!

"Get away from the frau." I spit, imagining perfectly his face before I tear off the skin and make his corpse unrecognizable.

"Excuse me?" Elliot crossly says as his eyes narrow. His hands over Jackie's ears slowly retreat as he sets a blanket over her, watching as she hugs it and hide her face. He softly studies her trembling and hysterically sobbing form as Elliot's eyes dangerously glide over to me. Ha. He's a smart kanin to realize I'm the reason for all this.

"What the ficken are _you_ looking at?" I sneer towards the kanin.

" ... Why was Jackie tied to a pole during the storm?" The kanin numbly questions, sliding a finger through Jackie's red bangs before watching it fall against the other soft wet threads. I throw my head back before lurching it forward, resting my hands on my knees as I stare at him with all the frustration and sanity of a mad man.

"Because of _me_." I proudly grin, tilting my head as I assess his reaction. Go ahead. Try to kill me. I will run my blade through you skull and merrily splatter your guts all over the park. His eyes narrow as he turns to me, studying my prideful grin.

"What did you do to Jackie, punk?" He coldly asks with ears level. Ha ... ha, hee hee! I like him. He can see my cold, murderous gaze thirsting for blood. Ha! Ha ha ha! I like him! And I can't wait to kill him.

"I threatened her, pushed her outside and tied her to the pole, listening to her screaming terror as I waited for the lightning to get closer." I let out a coughing laugh, sliding a hand through my wet hair as I slide my blade out of his view. Go ahead and charge me, Kanin. His eyes angrily flash as he dashes forward, slamming his forearm into my chest. S-So fast! I painfully huff as the kanin smacks me against the wall, clicking a gun to my forehead before I can open my eyes again. He freezes, eyes caught up in indecision as he pushes harder against my chest. Ficken, I can hardly breathe-!

"I have a short fuse. Do not test it." He warns with a feral snarl. My eyes widen as I feel myself fade before becoming new and innocent.

"Ow ... ah ... what-?" I mutter, looking around the room before spying Elliot's maddened gaze. My chest tightens in fear as my lips tremble, frightened by his murderous glare. W-Wait-!

"I said. Do. Not. Test me. If you hurt Jackie like that again I will _more_ than happily splatter your guts all over the wall!" He sneers, sending frightened tremors down my spine. H-Hurt her? No, you've got it wrong-!

"Stop ... ! No ... ! I don't even know what you're talking about!" I shout, mortified he would accuse me of such a thing. I would never hurt her! No, never ever! Elliot's glaring eyes only become more livid as he leans in, getting right in my face. The smell of carrot frosting never brought to mind death more at this moment than any other. S-Stop I'm scared-!

"Then take a look at the couch and tell me what you see." He dangerously growls, roughly dropping me to the ground as he steps aside. I flinch, feeling my head pound as I slowly crawl over to the couch. Why the couch? What's going on? Everything freezes as I spy Jackie's terrified form under the blanket, shivering. Her soft crying send daggers into my chest as I hesitantly reach out to her, watching her soaking wet form expel more and more tears of fear and small wheezes of terror here and there. My eyes grow wide as my mouth opens, gasping as I immediately lurch forward.

"No ... ! No, Jackie what's wrong?" I ask, watching as her grip immediately tightens around the edges of the blanket, biting her lip in a feeble attempt to stop crying. I gently place a hand on her head, ruffling her hair softly, the other hand stroking her cold cheek, "It's okay, Jackie ... it's okay."

"You think you have the right to say that, after what you did?!" Elliot roars, digging his fingers painfully into my hair before ripping me back. I let out a sharp cry as he spins around, smashing my skull against the wall. A scream fills the room before I hush it up, clutching my broken skull in my arms as I curl into a ball on the ground. T-That hurt! What did I do? I-I didn't do anything to her, no, I would never do anything to hurt _her_, of all people-! Elliot growls before his ear perks up. He stares at the door, clearly torn before leering over me.

"You've gotten the picture. Hurt her again and it will be _you_ who is the mess - all over the f***ing wall." Elliot deathly threatens before promptly leaving, casting a glance back before exiting and shutting the door. I shake my head, continuing even when it causes me great pain. My hands clutch either side of my head as I stumble to my feet, smacking against the couch as I struggle to keep my footing. Jackie, Jackie what's wrong? Please, please oh it hurts but Jackie, Jackie is so scared! Because ... because of _me_?

"I'd never hurt her! Never ... ! Never!" I hug Jackie's trembling body, crying into her shoulder from both pain and confusion. My head aches, feeling as though it is on the verge of falling apart from the aching and hot throbbing torturing my head. B-But Jackie is crying. Elliot said it was my fault, but I don't understand-! "Jackie ... ! What's going on? Why...? I don't understand anymore!" Her fingers refuse to let go of her legs as she holds herself, unable to quiet her sobbing.

BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM

"EEEEKKKK!" She nearly shrieked, hugging herself tighter. My heart pounds with numbing fear, tightening my arms around her. I'm right here, Jackie, so please don't be frightened.

"I'll always try to protect you ... ." I promise in a small mutter, moving and hugging her tightly. She trembles in my arms as her never ending tears gently soak and absorb into my sleeves.

‡

Awe~ Atticus is so cute when he isn't trying to murder her. 15**_ REVIEWS_** for the next chapter because this one is over 10,000 words which is basically two chapters in one which is all ready to go :3


	12. Chapter 12

I breathe in the fresh air and hurried on my way, excited to give Jackie the parts from Gowland. She's going to be happy with the new pipes because now she can work on the High Swings. I hug the bag, smiling, just imagining the look on her face. That's the only thing I'm looking forward to. She's going to be so happy to see them when she wakes up. My heart gently tightens as I clutch the bag in hand, unable to erase the image of her hysterical crying. Her rosy cheeks and those tears imprinted deep in my chest that night. It's been a few time changes but ...

I still feel something is off. She cringes every time she looks at me. No, no I'm sure I didn't do anything to her. Maybe it's something with work that's bothering her. The rhythmic tapping of my feet falter slightly as I stumble against the side of a brick building, shakily exhaling as the throbbing in my head persists. It hurts so much. Did Elliot crack my skull? I wouldn't doubt it. He smashed my head against the wall with all his might. I wonder-

"Mrooow~ sup, Atticus?" Boris yawns, lazily draping himself over my shoulders. I jump and nearly drop the bag as my head whips around, making sure it really is Boris and not Elliot coming back for round two. That man frightens me but Boris is nice.

"O-Oh, Guttentag Cheshire cat." I say with a sheepish smile. Boris stares at the bag, eyes half lidded as his tail flickers.

"Watcha got?" He asks, poking around the bag and tugging on the rim of it to see its contents. I swing around and out of his grasp, letting him see the special gears to hitch swings onto the long cords.

"New parts for Jackie to work on the high swings," I say, watching his face fall into an almost disappointed frown. Was he expecting something better or for me to try and let him figure it out?

"Bleh. Boring. Hm? What's this?" Boris asks, his eyes locking onto my chest. I jump as Boris slides a hand into my shirt and fishes out the dog tags with an amused smile.

"Oh ... ah, that's something the medic gave me before I was put in a uniform," I explain before embarrassingly admitting, "I can speak English, but I can't really...read it."

"Medic huh?" Boris hums, reading the label. He blinks, eyes narrowing in puzzlement before drawing back with the tags. He holds them up to his face, reading it closer.

"What's a Split Personality Disorder? And a ... PTSD?" He asks aloud, staring at Atticus before huffing, "meh, to hell with it. This is boring." He sighs, hopping off to mess with something else.

My head painfully rings from the persistent throbbing as my heart stops for a moment. N-No way ... he's only teasing, right? The bag slips from my fingers as I take the tags and hold them up, staring blankly at the foreign English writing. There isn't anything written like that on my tags is there? I stare at the engraved writing before pulling my hand away. No ... I don't have those. But then why would the medic give them to me? I stumble back, darting my eyes across the ground blindly for answers. "J-Jackie will tell me. Jackie will tell me the truth, won't she?"

JACKIE'S POV

I jolt as the door slams open, spinning around as I clutch the handle of a frying pan with some stir fried vegetables on it. Atticus's chest rapidly rises and falls as he breathes heavily, giving me the look of a dead man. What the heck?

"A-Atticus what's wrong?" I ask as he quickly approaches me before grabbing my shoulders.

"What do my tags say?" He asks, reeking with fright and desperation. My eyes tighten slightly as I gaze over his chest and the dog tags.

"W-What do you mean?" I cautiously ask. Oh boy ... what do I do? My lips part before sealing them shut, torn. Do I tell him? But that's only another burden to him. But ... he deserves to know the truth.

"What does it say in English, Jackie, please, I must know!" He begs, staring me in the eyes. "I ... I need to know."

" ... T-They say ... PTSD and split personality." I hesitantly admits, watching the horror unfold on his face. His face pales before he backs up, running his hand through his hair. His eyes widen before he whips around and starts running.

"H-Hey, Atticus -!" I shout before he slams the door shut - to the closet. I blink before lurching forward, slamming against the door and wrestling with the stubborn handle. He's holding it from the other side?

"Hey, Atticus come out! There's nothing wrong with having those things especially when you've gone through the things you have! Y-Y-You only did what you had to do to survive!" I shout, rehearsing what I already thought of saying when the day came out about this. Poor Atticus ...

"That ... that just means I'm dangerous! I do terrible things and I can't remember them! I realize it ... I've been hurting you ever since I've been around you, haven't I?!" He shouts, completely pained from the other side.

"No, no Atticus that's not true!" That's completely true, "you've never hurt me, not once!" Except for nearly cutting me up into ribbons and bruising me terribly, "look, Atticus just come out of the closet alright?"

...

"Atticus~!" I call, pounding on the door, "look, that's totally normal! I'm pretty messed up; m-my mother was psychotic. She used to beat me mercilessly and there was nothing I could do to fight back." I admit. Anything. I'll tell him anything to make him try to understand that I've felt his kind of pain before.

Loneliness.

Hurt.

Fear.

If I could I would take all the fear and pain off his shoulders but I can't so at least share it with me!

"So, Atticus I can understand why you would be scared. I'm covered in scars and it took me years to come to terms with it. I still have trouble; heck, every time there's a thunderstorm I get flashbacks. Atticus ... ," I softly whine, tapping my head against the board as I stop struggling with the door handle but keep my hand on it for when his grasp on the other end loosens up, "just ... please come out. Suffering alone is the worst and I know that to be a fact."

"No. I just ... ," he says, his tone breaking. "What if I 'turn' over when I open this door? You're the last person I want to hurt."

"I-it will be fine, Atticus because I won't let you hurt me." I say, pleading for him to come out. After a few moments of silence the handle gives way. My fingers hesitantly turned the knob as I poke my head inside, watching him sliding to the ground with his back against the wall as he dolefully stared up to me.

"Jackie ... ," he whines, eyes a tad moist and hands trembling. I softly gaze over him. Atticus ... he's in so much pain. I hesitate before opening the door a little more, trying to ease him back into the well lighted room.

"Atticus, come here." I smile with arms open to receive him. His eyes flash with clear desire as he flinches towards me, but holds himself back.

"No, no I can't!" He exclaims, covering his face with his arms. Atticus hugs his knees, resting his chin atop of them, "Just ... I just can't ... !"

My heart tightens as she stare at the broken and lonely boy. Oh Atticus ... his sad, deadened eye rolls up to see me slide inside the closet and gently shut the door. My hand touches his knee after a few pats on the ground searching for a place to sit. This closet is relatively empty because I don't have many clothes in the frat place so it's a little roomier I guess.

"It's alright Atticus. We can stay in here for as long as you need." I comfort, very lightly rubbing his knee. Everyone has their own little hiding places and I guess for Atticus it's in the closet. And that's perfectly fine. I will stay here with him until he comes to terms about himself.

"B-But what if I turn and attack you? I don't want that, please go, Jacks." He pleads, his hand gently sliding over mine on his knee as he lightly squeezes. I gently smile in the dim almost dark room as I move a little closer, coiling an arm around his leg and gently hug it.

"I will wait as long as I need to." I smile, closing my eyes as I rest my chin on his knee. Atticus glances up before shaking his head.

"I harshly hit my head the night of the thunderstorm ... I hurt it pretty badly and it's done something to me." He says, refusing to meet my gaze.

"You did?" I ask, shifting closer. He shivers as my fingers very lightly dance over his skull, pausing over a very tender and swollen area, "does it still hurt? Did you ever ice it?"

"The damage is done ... I can't heal what it caused ... ," Atticus mumbles, sounding almost resigned to his fate, "it's all hazy now..."

"H-hey, are you feeling alright?" I ask, gently patting his head. How in the world did he hit it? "M-maybe we should take you to the medic." I urge with a strained voice. This isn't good. He needs medical help - and maybe some therapy. I start to get up before he lightly squeezes my hand.

"No. Jackie ... I think I'm disappearing." He hesitantly says, making a shuddering chill crawl down my spine.

"D-Disappearing?" I say, grabbing his hand. He took the potion so he can't leave. What does he mean he thinks he's 'disappearing'?

"I feel like my mind is going and I'm scared." He quietly adds the end, unable to cover up all the sadness and fright coloring his voice.

"You're not going to disappear, Atticus." I say, holding his hand tightly. He's scaring me, saying things like that.

"But I'm so afraid! Afraid that if the good me disappears, and the other me stays out ... will I continue to hurt you? I don't want to hurt you, Jackie...!" His grip tightens gently as he pulls my hand closer, hesitating before holding my palm to his lips, "I love you ... ," he murmurs.

My eyes widen, heart jerking in place. L-Love me? He ... _loves_ me? Oh gosh how do I say this? And he's at such a weak point in his life right now!

"O-oh yeah?" I croak in my shock. Loves me ... but how can he be sure of that? We haven't known heavy other long and - and that word shouldn't be so easily said and I-I- oh I don't even know how to react in this situation! I mean, I still see him as a k-k-k...id? But I don't see him like that. After he bulked up ... I mean, oh heck I don't even know anymore! B-but he's still younger than me. Atticus looks down after a few moments of my silence, avoiding eye contact as he lets my hand go.

"Yes ... ," he mutters with all the heartache of a pained man.

"A-Atticus, I...," I trail off unsure of what to say. Oh man ... I'm just breaking his heart even worse.

"L-listen, Atticus you're not going to disappear alright?" I reassure, sweeping a finger over his hair. He tilts his head, observing me through the darkness. I stiffen as his hand very gently slides up my leg, his lips pressing against my cheek. My heart races as my lips tremble, almost upset that his mouth supposedly missed its mark.

"Atticus ... ," my trembling lips mutter, a touch if pink heating up my face as pleasantly warm feelings pulse through my veins. No, no no no he's still a kid! But ... only by two years. Oh I just don't know! I mean, I like him and all but this ... this? My mind falls fuzzy as his lips brushes over my skin.

"Jackie ... ," he softly whispers, placing a soft kiss against the corner of my lips. My heart pounds hard, fluttering as Atticus repeated my name. What ... do I do? I ... I ... Actually _want_ to kiss him.

"Atticus ... ," I mutter, making his breathing hitch. My fingers hesitantly slide up his firm forearm as I lean in, connecting our lips. Oh to hell with it I'm already here like this so I might as well go with the flow. His eyes shut as he holds me close, pressing firmer.

"Hm-!" I groan in the back of my throat, wrapping my arms around Atticus's shoulders. It's not ... terrible to kiss him. He's _just_ 2 years younger than I am. And I ... I like him. He's sweet, considerate and kind. I slowly get to my knees and push a little more into the kiss, parting lips for a breath before reconnecting them. His hands coil around to my lower back, pressing my hips to his stomach. I slightly gasp at the hot rocks tumbling around in my stomach, moving my hands so I'm tightly clutching his shoulders.

"Jacks ... ," he hums, kissing my cheek before kissing me on the lips again. I jolt as his finger suddenly dig into my back. I let out a pained whine, feeling his mouth trap my lower lip and gently suck on it. My eyes pop open spying a hazier look in his eye.

"M-Maus...," he mutters, teetering on the edge if reality before reconnecting our lips. H-He changed back to the other one? He presses his lips against mine roughly, his tongue running across my bottom lip before shifting his weight. I cringe as he pushes me down on the ground, his tongue rudely sliding in. My nails dig into his arm as I push back, biting his tongue. Oh what the hell get off!

His kiss grows gently, lovingly, indicating that he had turned back to his other side. The good Atticus. Oh man he's switching it up on me. That's not fair. My fingers loosen before I pull back for air, suddenly hesitant. I-I shouldn't be kissing him. I really shouldn't be. I flinch as his hand slides through my hair, moving his lips to delicately place kisses along my neck and jaw.

"Ah ... ," I groan, craning my head back. T-That feels good ... No, stop! ... But it _does_ feel good.

"Jacks ... I really like you. I love you. I love you so much ... ," Atticus says so softly, so tenderly, as he reconnects his lips to mine. My eyes roll back from his sweet words, overtaken by the warmth digging their claws into my body. Fine I'll give in ... I like this, I like this a lot and I really like Atticus. So this is fine, isn't it? I push back, sliding a hand over his shoulder and neck as the other settles between his pecks, lightly massaging the area. He hums in response, softly kissing before it becomes rough for a second, then turning back into a feathery kiss.

My eyes crack open, trying to keep up with the shifting pressures and roughness. Why is he changing so fast now? I grunt in the back of my throat as his fingers tighten their grip, feeling one slide to my front.

"F-Frau ... such a bad maus doing this to me ... ," he mutters in a confused yet longing voice, parting his lips with a pained sigh before leaning against me. I bulk as I feel something strange pressing against my leg but hold my tongue. It's a ... uh ... flashlight in his pocket. Yeah. I stiffen as he sits on my stomach, squeezing my shoulders before gliding his hands across my collarbone. Oh gosh that feels good ...

"So beautiful, maus, so magnificent and fun~ I want to have you. You're smart, conniving, sinister in your own way. But most of all because you're such a gullible little maus ... ," he smirks before chuckling, his hands grabbing my throat.

"Geh!" I gasp, clutching his wrist before his lips connect with mine, squeezing his hands around my throat in a suffocating grasp.

"Atticus-!" I shouted, struggling to pry his hands off. Dang it he's too strong for me!

"Shut up. Since 'he' already knows about me, shouldn't I let him know what I've done to you? I look forward to his reaction." He purrs before pulling back, keeping a death grip around my neck as my mouth parts for much needed air. I can't breathe!

"I wonder how the good me will take this? Will he run away? Or will he break down?" Atticus hoarsely chuckles, squeezing tighter, "you are so much fun, frau."

"A-Atticus stop-!" I hiss, kicking his back. No, no no no don't let him see this-! I jolt as he leans down to my ear, nipping at the upper corner of my ear. Ouch! The energy begins to seep from my limbs as his grip remains steady. Stop, stop please!

"Relax," he whispers, "he's going to find out sooner or later."

My eyes widen when his grip loosens and the hazy look returns to his eyes. The moment his hands loosen their grip instinct takes over, swatting his hands away from my neck as I cough and hack for air. I twist partway to the side, shifting him on my stomach, making him move to his knees as I clutch my aching throat. I ... really thought he was going to kill me!

"J-Jackie?" He squeaks before his eyes widen, staring at my reaction before eyeing his hands. He trembles, shakily pulling back his murderous hands as he begins to hyperventilate. Water forms at the corner of my eyes from the lack of air as I struggle to get out a reassuring sentence, only managing a painful wheeze here and there in an attempt to get my breath back.

"Ja-Ja-Jackie, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to - I, I-!" He staggers back, falling out of the closet with a mortified expression.

He just tried to choke me and he knows it.

"No, No Atticus it's not what you think-!" I croak out a rasp, hardly able to make it coherent.

"No! I was strangling you! I-I-I nearly _killed_ you-!" He shrieks, terrified as he stares at his hands. I get to my knees, reaching out for him, "Atticus, stop, it's-"

"NOOOOOOOOO-!" He screams, clutching his head before suddenly relaxing. Puzzlement replaces horror as he blinks, staring at his hands.

"Huh?" He says, looking down at his chest. He pats his chest, as if trying to feel for something before a sheet of white colors his face. "W-Where did he go?"

"A-Atticus?" Jackie asked. Did he shift again?

"Hey, Jackie, what did you do to him?" He blinks, looking over his body again and again, expecting a different result each time.

"W-What do you mean?"

"I can't feel him."

"Wait, what are you talking about, Atticus?" I ask, wary. Is this the good Atticus or the bad Atticus talking?

"Hey, maus, what did you do?" He asks, confused before wickedly grinning. It's the evil Atticus. Cold water splashes over reality as realization dawns on me.

"Feh. Very nice, maus." He hums, patting his stomach before rolling his eyes over me before drawing closer, "continue with me." That doesn't even sound like a question it's more of a demand.

"No." I growl, getting up. What happened? What happened to the real Atticus? "Give Atticus back."

"He doesn't want to." He says, giving me a toothy grin.

"W-what do you mean he doesn't want to?" I choke out, still rubbing my sore neck that will assuredly have a bruise there come tomorrow morning. He doesn't _want_ to come out?

"He doesn't want to see you. He's afraid, hurt. Betrayed by himself."

"What? No, Atticus it isn't like that!" I shout, gripping his shoulders and staring into his eyes, desperate. How could he think that? Atticus sneers, easily brushing my hands off.

"He's a frail boy, and he saw it himself. He experienced it himself. How could he want to come out anymore?" He venomously purrs, pressing his mouth to the corner of my jaw before I back up.

"No, no then force him out!" He needs help. Atticus needs someone else to express himself to so he doesn't go insane - as if he hasn't already. No one can keep things like that bottled up for so long! "Atticus, let me talk to him PLEASE!"

"He won't come out. Never." His lips warp into a smirk, a feral one.

"W-Well why not?!" I demand, shoving Atticus's chest. Give him back! _Please_ give him back to me! His eyes flash as he shoves me right back into a wall, snatching my wrists before crazily staring into my eyes.

"Get your ears fixed, maus. He won't come back. And that means I'm here to _stay_." He barks out a vicious laugh before letting go, watching me slump to the ground with weakened knees.

It's all my fault.

If I had only been stronger. If only I hadn't forced him into the confined space of the closet. If only I had kissed him more willingly. If only I hadn't told him what the tags really say.

If only.

If only.

If only's won't get him back.

"Welcome to my personal Hölle, Maus. All for you."

‡

Daaaaaaaaaaaang. Who want to place bets on what's going to happen next? **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~


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